Love, Lust and Lunacy
by justagirl8225
Summary: Bad plumbing, a need for roommates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together. [AU]
1. Prologue

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** So yes, another alternate universe.. What can I say? I like these situations because I can blissfully ignore any storylines, injuries or whatever that I choose. Pertinent notes- everyone is more or less the same age…mid to late twenties. Some real names used, some not.. We'll see. And I know the summary is vague, but have some faith. And, I know the airport security measures have been tightened, but just play along with me a bit.

…………………

Saturdays were always laundry days. And since the wiring problem in the apartment complex…laundry day resulted in a trip to the Laundromat. Of course, they wouldn't have to worry too much about the laundry issue in a week. Childhood friends and college room-mates, Trish Stratus, Victoria Varon and Lita Dumas were finally moving out of their cramped apartment. Trish had been fortunate enough to spot the six bedroom house for sale in the classifieds one month ago…and they had all been fortunate enough to finally put up the necessary cash. Why they needed a six bedroom, they didn't really know…but it was certainly better than the cramped apartment they were currently living in. Being friends with the real estate agents daughter -Dawn Psaltis- helped their case immensely. Dawn was supposed to be one of the two room-mates they needed, but.. Her upcoming nuptials put a dent in that plan. The other planned room-mate -Lillian Garcia- was also out of the picture. Her excuse being that she had to move back in with her parents to help her mother take care of her ailing father. Not that Victoria, Trish and Lita didn't understand her reasoning…just that it left them in a temporary bind as to what to do. The three really didn't want to put an ad in the classifieds as they really didn't trust the population of San Francisco. But, if they didn't find the room-mates, they'd be left with no other options.

Lita wrinkled her nose, ripping down the paper that Victoria had just tacked up. "We are _so_ not advertising in a freakin' Laundromat."

The dark haired woman sighed. "And why not? Take a look around Li, there are normal people in here."

Lita snorted, "Yeah right.." she shook her head, sorting laundry into piles. "Vi.. You take a good look around…a lot of these people are far from normal."

"Including us," Trish commented from her spot between the two. "I mean really, we're not exactly poster children for 'normal'."

"Which is why it wouldn't hurt to put up an ad here," Victoria reasoned logically. "What else are we going to do? Advertise at our places of work?"

Lita shrugged, "We'll figure out something…but that doesn't mean we have to advertise here."

"Trish?" Victoria glanced to the aforementioned blonde woman. "What do you say? We just got a six bedroom house, and there's only three of us."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Duh…we were gonna have Lil and Dawn move in with us, and use the sixth bedroom as a guest room or something. And no, we can't let this place go. We've already used a lot of our budget money, plus dipped into our savings to get this place." She sent a pointed look to the redhead, "Besides… someone decided that the house would be perfect."

Lita held up her hands defensively, "I couldn't help the fact that the band needed a place to practice.. And besides, it wasn't just me, Lillian's also in the band."

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Not the point…your band could've found somewhere else than our already small apartment."

The redhead raised an eyebrow in turn, "I never heard you complaining…and if I recall correctly, you actually encouraged Jeff to practice there."

Victoria snickered, "She's got ya there Trish."

"And?" Trish stuck out her tongue at the raven haired woman. "You were making goo goo eyes at Chris."

"Actually," Lita glanced sent a sly look to Victoria. "You were more interested in my brother.. It was Lillian who kept missing her entrances because she couldn't keep her eyes off of Chris."

Victoria rolled her eyes, "So? I had no one else to talk to.. Trish was at work, you guys were practicing…what else was I gonna do?"

Trish exchanged a look with the redhead. "Hey Li.. Why don't we ask your brother to move in with us?"

Lita nodded slowly, "That's not a bad idea actually…Ty and one of the guys he works with are looking for a new place."

Victoria smiled dryly, "Sure.. And while we're at it.. We can ask Jeff to move in with us. There is a guest house on the property remember?" She rolled her eyes, "Which I still don't see the reason behind getting a six bedroom house, plus a one bedroom guest house.."

"Well…it's a small ranch for one." Trish shrugged nonchalantly. "That's reason enough right there. It's out of the city, but close enough to the city and more importantly- we get out of a very cramped apartment."

"Not to mention," Lita began with a smile, "Finding an affordable place in San Fran.. Is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Honestly Vikki, for what we were paying in rent plus parking…we would've spent way more if we had stayed in that lame ass apartment complex."

"And the laundry," Trish nodded between the carefully sorted piles. "I mean, we've used most if not all of our meter money to do laundry today.. Not that we'll need it after next week anyway…but--"

"Alright," Victoria let out a mock sigh of defeat. "You've made your point…even if we are gonna be paying taxes on this stupid place for the rest of our lives.."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Which is why we're looking for room-mates…and sorry Vi, but I hafta agree with Li on this one- no way in hell are we advertising for room-mates at the Laundromat."

Victoria shook her head as she put in a load of laundry. "Then what are we going to do? For arguments sake, lets say we do invite along Ty and his co-worker.. That's two room-mates right there, but do they stay in the guest house or the house, house."

"Well…let's take a closer look at this." Trish began as she started a load. "We're gonna need three room-mates for the house, one to rent out the guest house. Plus, we have a finished basement and an attic to work with."

Lita coughed, pausing the loading of laundry. "Actually…I was hoping to use the basement for practice. Like you said, it's finished, plus it'll be out of your way. We won't clutter the living room with our instruments and--"

"I know, I know.." Trish rolled her eyes. "You also need space to set up your dark room so you and Jeff can complete your projects. But that doesn't mean you'll be using the basement twenty four hours a day…so if we really need to, voila. One more spot open."

Victoria nodded as she shut the door to the washer. "Which means we'll need that attic for storage…think about it- three of us, plus whatever room-mates adds up to a lot of junk."

"Right.." the redhead nodded as she shut the door the washer she was using. "So, we'll talk to a few people.. I can ask Ty if he would be interested.." with a sideways glance to Trish, she added: "And I'll talk to Jeff."

Trish shut the door the washing machine with a flourish. "Well there's always tonight.. Remember? Dawn's having her engagement party."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, "So? It's not like there's gonna be anyone new there.."

"Yes, there will be…Christian's childhood best friends or something."

Lita blinked, "I thought one of 'em was Christian's cousin…"

"No," Trish corrected in a moment. "It's Dawn's cousin and one of Christian's room-mates from college, who also happens to be his cousin."

"Right.." Victoria swept her hair from her face, "So we're still hanging around here because…?"

Trish shrugged, "We can't exactly go very far…but we might as well get lunch."

…….

The three filed out of the Laundromat then, their destination as of yet- unknown. As Trish had pointed out, they really couldn't go far…since they had to return to claim three dyers. Added to that, they would risk losing the prime parking spots just outside of the Laundromat. And as they all knew, good parking spots were hard to come by in the city by the bay. Whatever the case, they didn't go too far, opting out of the popular all natural food place just around the corner in favor of a pizza place further up the street. There, they further discussed their room-mate options and the all important prospect of moving to their new place. Between them, they had a descent amount of furnishings, but they were severely lacking in kitchen appliances and dishes. Having lived in the apartment and having the added benefit of being college students- most of their dining experience had come courtesy of the college campus. Hence, the need for their own kitchen appliances and dinnerware had been lacking. But, they reasoned, they'd manage with what they had until they could afford more…or hopefully, their room-mates would be able to provide in that department.

"So, what do we really need to get?" Victoria queried on the way back to the Laundromat. "Most of the stuff we'll be taking with us…is furniture, a mop and a lot of clothes."

Trish shrugged, "The house already comes with a refrigerator, oven and dishwasher. I think there's a microwave too, but I'm not sure.."

"Well why would we need anything else for the kitchen then?" Lita sent the two a questioning look. "Unless one of us plans on taking up gourmet cooking, we don't need much."

"True," Victoria conceded with a nod. "Which means we just need to get some more pots, frying pans…and dishes."

"We should get a vacuum.." Trish added then. "We also need a dining room table, since ours is about ready to fall apart."

Lita frowned in thought, "Jeff's got a dining room set…plus a living room set. We could use a new couch or we can put it in the den."

"Ooh… we need a new television." Victoria sighed. "Ours is on it's last leg."

Trish snorted as they re-entered the Laundromat. "If we have guys for room-mates, I doubt getting a decent television will be a problem."

"Point," Victoria pushed back a few strands of hair. "So, what time is the engagement party and where is it being held?"

"Pier 39.." Lita stated as they re-grouped near the washing machines. "Since there will be some out of town guests coming in, Dawn figured a good tourist trap would be the perfect place."

Trish nodded, "And given that it's Dawn…we'll probably be at Neptune's. Best food, best views."

"Yup, Dawn also had her father book a private tour on one of the Blue and Gold ships." Lita shook her head, "And this is only the engagement party."

Trish opened her mouth to add to the statement when her cell phone beckoned. A blink later and the blonde was occupied.

"Trish.." Dawn began hastily. "Can you three do me a huge favor?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "What, why and when? We're kinda in the middle of doing laundry right now.."

The brunette sighed. "I can't get off of work until later and I was supposed to pick up my cousin and Christian's cousin from the airport."

Trish nodded slowly, "Uh huh…and why can't Christian get them?"

"Because, he's interning with Daddy today."

Trish pinched the bridge of her nose, "What time are they getting in and where are they staying?"

"Their flights get in at 3:00 and they're staying with me and Christian.." Dawn paused to bark out orders at her secretary. "That's the other problem…I was supposed to give them a small tour of the city before the party and now--"

"Fine…fine.." Trish shook her head. "We'll pick them up and play baby-sitter.."

"You're a lifesaver," Dawn gushed instantly. "Thank you so much Trish."

The blonde woman nodded, reaching for her purse to take down the necessary notes. "Okay.. We'll pick them up at the airport and meet you at Pier 39 at 5:00 for the party…yeah.. I know you owe us, Dawn."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Another pause, "Anyway I have to go…this team is really starting to get on my nerves."

Victoria and Lita eyed Trish expectantly when the phone call was ended.

"That was Dawn," Trish began first. "She needs us to pick up her cousin and Christian's cousin from the airport later."

Victoria grimaced, "I have to head to the college, work out my plans for next year. Remember?"

"Right, right… the masters program." Trish sent a pleading look to the redhead. "Li?"

The redhead sighed. "Fine…I'll go with you." She sent the blonde a look. "You're lucky that test was moved to next weekend."

Trish regarded her curiously, "So that means you're going after the teaching certification?"

Lita nodded, "Yup… of course, having Chris' dad on the board of education helps a lot."

The blonde nodded, "What are you planning on teaching?"

"Music or art I think," Lita shrugged. "But, I'll take just about anything."

Victoria inclined her chin. "Chris had mentioned there was an opening at that new elementary school.. But, I think it's kindergarten."

"It's also a co-taught class." Lita added wryly. "And you start with the kindergarten level, teach all the way through to sixth grade. Same group of students, same two teachers. If that doesn't come through for me, I'll just keep teaching piano on the side and working at the children's center."

Trish frowned thoughtfully, "So what are you gonna do about the band? Chris just got that internship with the Chronicle, Lil's doing the part-time nursing thing both at the hospital and at home…Jeff's--"

"No one knows what Jeff is doing. Last I knew, he was also going for a teaching certification so he could teach art." Lita finished for her. "But honestly, I really don't know what's going to happen. We held onto the band thing because it got us some extra cash for college."

Victoria nodded, "I think you'd be better off doing what you're doing now, Li. You love those kids at the center and they love you."

Lita smiled, "Yeah I do love them…they're great kids. But, it's only a part time job, Vikki.. I can't do that for the rest of my life and expect to make it."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Then go full time, silly. You can do that now, you know.. Work 3:00 to 11:00 at the center. That way you can still do your piano lessons."

"I've thought about it," Lita shrugged, moving a load of laundry from the washer to a dryer. "But, I'd have to wait until there are more full time openings."

"It'll work out," Trish smiled warmly. "And in the mean time, I have to find a part time job for me. Four more years plus a one year internship before I even get to residency."

"And you'll get there," Victoria stated with a smile. "Just like I'll get through law school."

……..

Conversation trailed off then, the three discussing their future plans. Both the realistic future and their dream visions of the future. They all knew a rocky road was ahead of them, but they had been expecting that anyway. All they could hope was that, it wouldn't be too rocky…and it was at times like that, they wished they had Dawn's life. Their friend, daughter of one of the city's best real estate agents, was also employed by one of the top interior design firms. Of course, that was partly due to some nepotism.. Dawn's mother the owner of the aforementioned firm. But, they weren't really jealous of their friend, they just wished they could have it as easy as she did. Where they had struggled somewhat to make ends meet, Dawn had always had it easy. Life for the brunette, had been served on a silver platter…sometimes literally. Her upcoming wedding was already one of the most talked about events…and the wedding wasn't even scheduled for another year. Whatever the case, the three remained resolved in their beliefs to succeed.

"Alright.." Trish began when they entered the airport. "Dawn's cousin is flying in from Boston, Christian's cousin is flying in from St. Louis." She glanced sideways to the redhead, "Who do you want?"

Lita shrugged, "It doesn't really make a difference Trish, we're all heading in the same direction afterwards."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Okay…Dawn said that Christian's cousin is on the tall side, he has brown hair and blue eyes.."

"That really narrows things down.."

"She also said, that if he's wearing a short sleeved shirt, he's got tattoo's on his arms."

Lita nodded, pausing a moment to read over the informational monitors. "Okay… I guess I'll meet you down at the baggage claim then. Stupid terminals on the other side of the airport."

"That works," Trish re-shouldered her purse. "See ya then!"

Lita waved in response, wishing then that she had gotten a name before she left to get Christian's cousin.

"Shoot," Trish bit her lower lip. "I forgot to mention his name.." She glanced over her shoulder in vain. "Oh well, I'm sure Li'll find him anyway."

The redhead crossed her arms impatiently while she waited for the plane to come in. "So, now I'm looking for some non descript guy who may or may not be wearing a short sleeved shirt." She sighed, "This is going well."

"Crap, they're deplaning already." Trish pushed her way through the crowd, "Okay.. Dawn said to look for a brown haired, well built, loudmouth guy…"

"Finally," Lita pushed off from the wall. "I hope this guy sat near the front."

The blonde woman narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the deplaning passengers for a likely candidate. "Hmm.." hazel eyes fell on one individual. "Well.. Only one way to find out.." Shoulders straight, she approached the male under scrutiny. "Umm.. Are you John?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Depends on who's askin'.."

Trish fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm Trish.. Dawn's friend. She couldn't make it so she asked me to come get her cousin."

He nodded hesitantly. "An' how do I know you ain't gonna try and kidnap me or somethin?"

This time, she did roll her eyes. "Look, if you'd like to find your own way around San Francisco, be my guest. I'm doing this as a favor for Dawn."

"Lighten up, blondie." John re-shouldered his carry on. "I'm John Cena.. Dawn's cousin from Boston."

She smiled politely, "Trish Stratus… Dawn's friend from San Fran."

While John and Trish made their way to the baggage claim, Lita was still waiting for the deplaning process to start.

"How long does it take--" She trailed off when the door to the jet way finally opened. "About freakin' time."

"I'm complaining to your superior." A man said as he walked out, "This is just ridiculous, taxiing for who knows how long."

"Well there's a rude one," Lita commented to herself, hazel eyes watching him absently. "With brown hair, blue eyes…" her face fell, "And tattoo's on his arms. Just my luck."

The male in question stopped in the middle of the terminal, to slip on his sunglasses. "That is the last time I use this stupid airline…stupid Christian for living in this crappy city."

Lita pursed her lips in dismay. "Might as well get this over with.." Hands jammed in her pockets, she approached the apparently disgruntled figure. "Excuse me.."

An eyebrow raised, "What?"

She forced a smile, "A friend asked me to come pick up her fiancé's cousin.. You seem to fit her description."

He lifted his sunglasses marginally, "Right and that could probably describe just about anyone, huh? Why should I believe you?"

She shrugged, "You really have no reason to.. But, if you want to pay your own way into San Francisco, figure out where you're going…then by all means, feel free."

He eyed her carefully, "I'm calling my cousin just to make sure you aren't some psycho."

Lita rolled her eyes, "Be my guest." She crossed her arms over her chest, standing back as he did in fact call his cousin. "What a cocky jerk.."

"Hmm." He turned to face her, once he had finished his phone call. "Christian said, it'd either be a short blonde or an average height redhead."

She raised an eyebrow, tossing her red locks for effect. "Last I checked, I fit the latter of the two descriptions."

He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Whatever.. Lets just be on our way, so I can get my luggage and complain to my cousin in person."

Lita smiled thinly, "So do you have a name or should I just call you asshole?"

He paused, "Well I could tell you or you could be polite and tell me your name first…unless you'd like me to refer to you as psycho bitch."

"I've been called worse," she stated indifferently. "But for posterity's sake, I'm Lita."

He smirked, "Your parents must've hated you.." he waited a beat, "I'm Randy."

"Displeasure is all mine."

Randy shook his head at her retreating back, the two making their way to the baggage claim in silence. To say their meeting started on the wrong foot…was a drastic understatement. But, it was still her duty to at least get him to the baggage claim, so she did that. After the baggage claim, all proverbial bets were off. As far as the redhead was concerned, Randy could walk from the airport. But, she knew if she did that, Dawn wouldn't be happy. Dawn not being happy, would result in a very unpleasant evening and that was not how Lita wanted to spend a Saturday night. All the same, their walk through the airport was tense, Lita glancing over her shoulder once in awhile just to make sure he hadn't gotten lost. Soon enough -and thankfully for them both- they reached the baggage claim and met up with Trish and John. Introductions were exchanged, the two females stepping back so the guys could claim their luggage. Trish questioned the redhead's suddenly sour mood, Lita naming Christian's jackass cousin as the source. And it was on that note that, John and Randy re-joined the two; the four subsequently making their way out of the airport and to the parking garage.


	2. Chapter 1

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See the prologue..

Thank you all for the kind reviews! I have ideas, many, many ideas for this piece.

…………………

By the time Lita and Trish were in the vicinity of their apartment, the redhead was about ready to toss her passenger in the bay… or maybe that was just a bit _too_ nice for him. Perhaps, instead, she should tie him to the lower deck of the Bay bridge right before the tunnel. There was a small bump in the pavement there anyway, an additional one wouldn't make much of a difference. But, maybe even that was being too nice. And besides which, even with the Saturday afternoon traffic, it wasn't nearly as bad as rush hour traffic during the week. No, Lita decided, being tied to the lower deck of the bridge or being tossed into the bay would be far too humane for the complaining passenger. All Randy had done, since they had left the airport, was nit pick and whine about the city, the car, the traffic or his flight. Lita, had done her best to be understanding, to muster some shred of sympathy since he just had a non-stop flight from St. Louis. Not to her surprise, sympathy had been hard to come by for the blue eyed man. Maybe it was his sour attitude, maybe it was his condescending mannerisms or perhaps he was just an asshole in dire need of an attitude adjustment. Lita decided on the last of the three possibilities. Of course, she knew that everyone had a good side to them…or at least that's what she wanted to believe. In his case, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe his ego needed to be knocked down a level…or two or three. The hellacious car trip from the airport to the apartment, ultimately lead to one conclusion- he was so incredibly full of himself that it was absolutely sickening.

Knuckles near white from gripping the steering wheel, Lita turned to her passenger. "Look, all you've done since we left the damn airport is whine like a three year old." She forced a smile, "Like it or not, you're stuck with me, my room-mates and Dawn's cousin until the party."

Randy scoffed, "So? You could just drop me off at my cousin's house.. I'll gladly stay there until this stupid party."

Lita rolled her eyes, "If I could, then believe me- I wouldn't hesitate to do so. But, since I don't know where Christian lives, I can't take you there."

"Then I'll call him and get directions," he brought out his cell phone, "Don't park yet."

"And what right do you have, telling me what to do?" She snorted, eyes searching for a good spot. "Even if you do get directions, that doesn't mean I have any obligation to take you there."

Randy smirked, "That's what taxi cabs are for…and I wouldn't ask you anyway, because you can't drive."

She glared at the dashboard, "The thanks I get for doing a friend a favor.. You're lucky I just didn't leave you at the airport."

He rolled his eyes, occupying himself with his phone call. "Hey.. Yes, it's Randy."

Lita shook her head, mumbling to herself. "Please take him away.."

"Can you either come get me or give me directions to--" Randy frowned, "What do you mean you can't?"

Lita raised an eyebrow in interest as she parked the car. "This ought to be interesting.."

His frown deepened, "So I'm stuck with this… this woman, her stupid friends and your fiancé's stupid cousin until the party?" Randy sighed, "You really suck."

Lita nodded sagely, "You really do suck.." Loudly she added: "Not you Christian.. Your cousin."

Randy raised an eyebrow, closing the cell phone with a flick of his wrist. "Who asked you?"

She shrugged, "It's a free country isn't it? I'm entitled to express my opinions.. Just as you've been doing since you set foot in San Francisco."

He laughed without humor, "Well I can't really help it if the flight attendants were incompetent, if seemingly everyone in this stupid city can't drive, if--"

"Would you just shut up.." Lita shook her head, opening the door as she spoke. "I do hate to break it to you, but.. The world doesn't revolve around you."

"It should," he stated simply as he exited the car. "Life would be so much easier that way."

The redheaded woman pinched the bridge of her nose, slamming the door shut. "I usually don't judge a book by it's cover, but in your case? I think I'll make an exception."

Randy placed a hand over his heart, shutting the passengers side door shortly. "That hurts…really, it does." With a snort, he shook his head, walking around to the trunk. "Can you open this so I can get my bags?"

She smirked, "I could but.. You wouldn't really need all of your crap unless you planned on staying at my apartment." Lita shrugged, "Not that I would invite you to anyway but--"

"Did it occur to you, that maybe I wanted to get a change of clothes?"

"For what?" Lita rolled her eyes, "In case it slipped your feeble mind, the party starts at 5:00."

"Well.." Randy gestured down to his clothing. "My shirts wrinkled and so are my pants."

Lita smiled shortly, key ring swinging idly from her index finger. "You know, they're doing some construction a few blocks away…they probably still have a steam roller there. That'd fix your problem and do the world a favor."

"Hey Li!" Trish called from across the street, she and John standing in front of the apartment building. "John wanted to know if we could grab a bite to eat then explore a bit.."

Randy rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Oh now that sounds like _loads_ of fun.. Not only will I be stuck with the psycho bitch, but I'll also be stuck with her stupid room-mate and--"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Lita yelled in response, "Where do you want to go?"

Trish shrugged, "Well we can't really go too far.. Traffic's already bad, I wanted to change before we left and--"

"Wouldn't it make more sense to cross the street?" Randy asked, looking down at the redhead. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong but--"

"Didn't I ask you to shut up?" Lita smiled, before she turned her attention back to the blonde woman. "Hold on a sec, Trish." She waited until traffic had cleared, sparing a glance to Randy before she dashed across. "Now, you were saying?"

Trish blinked, glancing between her room-mate at the somewhat bewildered looking brown haired man across the street. "Well.. It s just, I wanted to change before the party. We know that traffic is already getting bad, so…"

Lita shrugged, hands tucked in her pockets. "So, we'll just go somewhere within walking distance then drive down to Pier 39.. Or, we could head over to Ghiradelli Square, grab something there and then walk to Pier 39."

The blonde woman nodded slowly, "Sure that works… I wonder if Vikki's home. We can see if she wants to come with us or something."

The redhead frowned thoughtfully, "I don't see her car anywhere.."

Randy glared when he finally made it across the street. "Do you do this to all of your out of town guests? Or am I just special?"

"No, but.." Lita rolled her shoulders. "You aren't my guest, are you? You're Christian's guest."

….

While Lita and Randy continued to argue with each other, Trish called Victoria. As Lita and Trish suspected, their raven haired room-mate was still at the college. But, since she had already met with the necessary people, she was just about to head out. Trish informed Victoria of the pre-party plans, inviting her along if she wanted. Just as Trish was finishing up the conversation, Lita's cell phone beckoned. Randy waited impatiently while the redhead discussed the evening's plans with her brother. To his further chagrin, John and Trish collected one suitcase from the trunk of Trish's car before the two disappeared into the four story apartment building. But, before Randy could snatch the cell phone from the redheaded woman's possession, she ended her conversation. The two exchanged a heated glare before Lita lead the mad dash back across the street to retrieve one of his suitcases. But, of course, the un-pleasantries couldn't stop there. The two continued to bicker while they crossed the street and up until they had reached the third floor apartment.

"Ty and his co-worker will be meeting us at Ghiradelli," Lita mentioned once she was safely inside. "Is Vikki meeting us there too?"

Trish nodded in confirmation, "Vikki ran into Jeff who heard from Chris that the engagement dinner starts at 8:30.. We're going on a sunset cruise on the Red and White Fleet at 6:00."

Lita laced a hand through her red locks, "Well I told Ty, we'd be at Ghiradelli around 4:30.. Did Vikki say anything about Jeff or Chris being there?"

"No, but you could call them…see if they'd be up for meeting us." Trish shrugged, "I would call but, I wanted to take a shower before we left."

Lita rolled her eyes good naturedly, cordless phone now in hand. "As long as I offer to buy them food, I'm sure they'll agree.." Absently she turned to the two visitors, "Umm.. Just make yourselves comfortable I guess."

Trish popped her head out from the bathroom, "We usually go grocery shopping on Sunday, so.. The cupboards and the fridge are kinda bare. But, help yourselves anyway."

"Jeff…Chris, it's Li.." the redhead shook her head at the wall, "I know at least one of you is there, so why don't--"

"Hey." Jeff greeted shortly. "I just got in and Chris is talking to the landlord."

"Ahh.." Lita plopped down on the couch, "How does meeting me, Vikki, Trish, Ty and a friend of his at Ghiradelli Square sound?"

Jeff nodded, though she couldn't see it. "That sounds good…I ran into Vikki at the college and--"

"I know, things have been switched or we just got the information wrong." Lita flicked a glance to the window. "We're planning on heading over there at 4:30.. Trish and I have the honor of keeping Christian and Dawn's cousins entertained."

"Cousins?" Jeff echoed curiously, "What are their names and what're they like?"

The redhead rolled her eyes, "You'll find out when we meet you."

Jeff shook his head, "Alright Li, we'll meet you all down at Ghiradelli around 4:30.. By the fountain right?"

"Unless something happens and it's no longer there," Lita quipped dryly. "Where else do we meet?"

"Just checking, gosh.. Don't go biting my head off."

A short sigh, "I'm sorry.. Just, it's been a long day already…so yeah, we'll meet you two at the fountain around 4:30."

John sent the redhead a questioning look, "How far is this Ghiradelli place from Pier 39?"

"Not far," Lita replied simply. "Its all within walking distance.. Right on the bay." She frowned slightly, "Well technically, Ghiradelli isn't right on the bay, it overlooks the bay."

He nodded, "How long have you lived here?"

She set the phone down, heading to the kitchen while she replied. "I was born in Berkeley, which is across the bay…I lived until after I graduated from high school. And, even though I went to U.C Berkeley, I moved here. Which didn't make much sense but Vikki and Trish needed a room-mate."

"So, I'm guessing Trish is from San Francisco then?"

Lita nodded absently, "Yup.. Vikki's from Oakland, Dawn is also from San Francisco. Our parents all know each other in some way or another, plus we went to Girl Scout camp together."

John threaded a hand through his hair, "This place is…"

"Cramped?" Lita supplied dryly. "Yeah.. But, finding affordable housing in this city is next to impossible."

John chuckled, "I bet.. Boston isn't much better." Idly, he glanced to the other body in the living room. "And you're from where?"

"St. Louis," Randy stated shortly. "And no, I'm not too sure about the housing situation there.. I live with my parents."

"Well, isn't that sweet.." Lita grabbed a bottle of seltzer from the fridge. "Let me guess, you got your job through your father?"

"No actually," Randy rolled his shoulders. "I'm looking for a job, or I will be once I go back to St. Louis. My dad has this insane idea that I should find a job here, with my uncle."

Lita rolled her eyes, "For what it's worth…go back to St. Louis."

John coughed, glancing between Randy and the kitchen. "So uh.. Lita, what did you major in?"

"Social welfare, with a double minor in English and Public Policy." She seated herself near the window. "What did you study?"

"Exercise physiology," he leaned back a touch on the couch. "I'm not exactly sure what I'll do now, but.. I'm figuring it out as I go."

The redhead nodded, "I have a feeling that's what a lot of us end up doing.. I'm not really sure what I'll do either.. I've thought about teaching though."

John nodded, turning his attention to Randy. "So, what did you major in?"

"Earth and Planetary Sciences," the St. Louis resident stated then. "Like the two of you, I'm not really sure what I want to do either."

Lita shrugged, "Well there's Lawrence Hall of Sciences over in Berkeley.. And of course, all of the earthquakes that we get here. There should be something."

Randy regarded her skeptically. "Why are you trying to be nice to me?"

A short lived smile graced her face. "I never said I wasn't capable of being nice.. Far from it. You just chose to be a jerk from the minute we--"

"I hate traffic," Victoria bemoaned as the door opened. "I really hate traffic.. That is one thing I will not miss about living right in the city."

….

Lita introduced her room-mate to the two guests, Victoria excusing herself shortly afterwards so she could change. Trish, meanwhile, was still in the bathroom; the shower long since shut off. Once she had emerged from the bathroom, Lita excused herself from the living room so she could also change. And for her part, Trish directed John and Randy to the fourth and extremely tiny bedroom so they could change.. If they wanted to anyway and not only did Randy want to change, but John also went. Albeit it wasn't his choice, just that his cousin had specifically instructed for him to change before the party. John knew well enough not to question his cousin's request, and as such, found himself wearing a dress shirt and slacks that Dawn herself had picked out. At any rate, the two found themselves alone in the living room, a door opening down the hallway no sooner had they resumed their seats.

"I'm Victoria Varon," the raven haired woman smiled, smoothing down her knee length maroon colored skirt. "A friend of Dawn's, room mate to Trish and Lita."

"John Cena," the shorter of the two offered first. "Dawn's cousin from Boston."

Victoria nodded, tucking back a loose strand of hair. "And you must be Christian's cousin.."

Randy nodded in confirmation, "Randy Orton, Christian's cousin from St. Louis."

"I hate dresses," Lita muttered under her breath, "I really hate dresses.." she scowled at the cherry blossoms imprinted on the pale pink dress. "Vikki, remind me why I'm wearing this.."

Victoria rolled her eyes, "Because Dawn asked you too, that's why. Lighten up Li, it doesn't look that bad."

Lita made a face, "It's pink.. And I hate pink."

"Honestly, Lita, you look fine." Trish commented as she exited her room, the blonde currently sporting a pale yellow sundress. "And no, you don't have time to change and even if you did? Dawn would just make you change when you got to the party."

John smirked from his spot, "I feel your pain, Lita.. Dawn sent this over to Boston, with the sole purpose of me wearing it for the party."

Lita rolled her eyes good naturedly, "I guess I can understand…this is a pretty big deal for her."

"Well duh," Trish shook her head, blonde locks pinned back into a French twist. "It's her engagement party and not only that, but it's a very important--"

"Social event, I know.." Lita finished dryly. "Every party that Dawn has a hand in, is an important social event."

Victoria grabbed her keys, "Well since it's already 4:15, we should probably get going.. Traffic was already pretty tight and you both know how hard it is to find a parking spot."

Trish nodded, grabbing her purse as she spoke. "Yeah, we know.. Traffic was terrible coming back from the airport." She glanced to Victoria, "Are you taking your car or do you want to hitch a ride with me or Li?"

"The backseat of my car is full," Lita mentioned sardonically. "Someone decided to bring the maximum amount of luggage with him."

Randy made a face, "That was my dad's doing…I told you, he has some insane idea about me moving here."

Lita rolled her eyes, "So? That doesn't mean you had to bring all of your earthly possessions with you. Besides which, I thought there was a limit on the amount of luggage you could bring."

"Anyway," Trish glanced between the two. "Vikki? It looks like you're coming with me and John."

The five fell silent then, exiting the apartment shortly after. As planned, Victoria left with John and Trish; Lita trailing not far behind.

"So," Victoria began from her spot, "What's the word on Jeff and Chris?"

Trish shrugged, "No clue actually.. I think Li called them."

The raven haired woman nodded, "I guess we'll find out when we get there then."

"Yeah.." Trish glanced idly to the side, "Tyson and a friend of his will be meeting us there."

"Well that makes sense," Victoria reasoned. "I mean, Ty was invited to the engagement party."

The blonde woman nodded, "Yup… I hope Lillian can make it, but last I knew.. Her dad wasn't doing so well." She glanced back to Victoria, "Did you get into the program?"

Victoria grinned, "Yes I did and I can't tell you how relieved I am.. It means putting off law school for a year, but its an internship at a newer law firm."

Trish nodded, guiding the vehicle to one of the parking garages. "Well it's a great start, I mean.. it gets you some great experience. And who knows, maybe the year off will be good."

Victoria snorted, "After the hellacious year we just had? A year out of the hallowed halls will be a very welcomed escape."

"Don't remind me," Trish groaned, "I'm not as lucky as you…I have to keep going straight on with it. Otherwise, I might lose my spot."

"Well neither of us has it as lucky as Li," Victoria pointed out as Trish parked. "If she wants to pursue it, she can go after a masters.. Or if she just wants to do what she's doing, her bachelors will be fine."

"True," Trish conceded. "Chris is also pretty lucky…he got his bachelors, then he landed that internship with the Chronicle." She paused, preparing to say more when she stopped in her track. "Holy--"

Victoria raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with you?"

Trish nodded to Lita's car, three parking spots down. "They're talking civilly.. And I could be mistaken, but I think Li is laughing."

"So?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, alarming her car before they met Lita and Randy halfway. "So? Vikki, all those two have done is argue like siblings…and they don't even know each other."

Lita smiled wryly, "Hey Trish…here's someone else who understands the pains of having a younger sibling."

"Ahh…" Trish nodded knowingly, "How many do you have?"

Randy rolled his shoulders, "Two.. A younger brother and a younger sister."

"I have two younger sisters," Trish commented sagely. "They're okay most of the time, but.."

John snorted, the six making their way outside. "Try three younger brothers and one older brother."

Lita whistled low, "Okay.. You win then. I only have a younger brother."

"Hey Li," Victoria sent the redhead a questioning look, "What's the story on Jeff and Chris?"

"They're meeting us, along with Ty and his friend." Lita informed the raven haired woman. "Oh, speaking of those four though…is it okay if I ask them about the house thing?"

Trish shrugged, "Whatever you know? I mean, it's not like we won't have the space."

Victoria also shrugged, "I don't really care…and asking them would be easier than placing advertisements."

"Cool," Lita grinned. "So if all four of them say yes, we have our rooming arrangements taken care of."

Trish nodded, "And then some.. Remember? We weren't planning on using the basement as another room. There's three bedrooms on the first floor, plus three on the second. The pool house has one bedroom and I think there's a bedroom over the garage."

"So, we'll just have a lot of guest rooms.." Lita reasoned with a shrug. "Or we can use them for whatever. It'll just be nice getting out of that stupid apartment."

Victoria nodded, "Agreed. But, if it comes down to it, we can seek out more room-mates."

"There you all are," Jeff greeted once they had reached the fountain. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show.."

Lita rolled her eyes, "More like you were worried that you'd have to spend your own money on a drink and some food?" She gestured absently to the five behind her. "The taller of the two is Randy and he's Christian's cousin. The shorter of the two is John and he's Dawn's cousin.." The redhead motioned to her side. "This is Jeff Hardy."

Jeff nodded in greeting, thumbing behind him to a blonde man. "This is Chris…and I think I saw your brother wandering around here."

"He'll find us," Trish stated with a smile. "I mean, its not like we're hard to pick out in a crowd."

"Or him, for that matter." Chris grinned good naturedly. "What have you three been up to?"

Victoria rolled her eyes, "Laundry, registering for the internship program, and--"

"Picking up these two from the airport." Trish finished for the raven haired woman. "Plus, we're trying to figure out what we're going to do about our housing situation."

Lita smiled apologetically, "I think I see my brother.. I'll be back, make sure he doesn't wander out of here or something."

While Lita set off to gather her brother and his friend; Trish explained the housing situation to Chris and Jeff. In turn, Chris informed Trish and Victoria about their own housing situation. Their landlord had kindly decided to raise their rent, and since they were barely scraping by as is…they were left with slim options. At least until Trish and Victoria suggested they move in with them. Granted, both Chris and Jeff were wary at first, but…after Lita had joined the argument for moving in, they agreed. More introductions were made when the redhead returned, she introducing her brother to the group while her brother introduced his friend, Dave Batista. Finally, when the introductions had been squared away, the expanded group set off for a little sight seeing on foot.


	3. Chapter 2

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See the prologue.. And let me say this one thing about the pairings: Only one pairing is absolutely set in stone…and that is Dawn/Christian. Also, the primary genre's might be romance and humor, but you know me.. I can't resist some drama. Also, any children will be OC's.

Thank you all for the kind reviews! I have ideas, many, many ideas for this piece.

**xoxox**

With the time now going on 6:00 p.m., the mini visit to Ghiradelli Square came to a close. As planned, the group made their way to Pier 43 ½ for the sunset cruise, walking down to the Hyde Street pier in order to walk along the waterfront. Of course, that particular route to warrant some complaining from a few…the overwhelming smell not sitting well with Dave, Tyson or Randy. It didn't really bother the females though, nor did it bother Chris, Jeff or John.. Not that any of them knew why, but Trish and Lita had figured it would be the best route to take. Aside from being a direct route to their destination, it also squeezed in a little more sight seeing for the out of town visitors. Suit jacket sleeves that had been rolled up were now rolled down, hands tucked into pants pockets as they continued on their way. Lita, Tyson, Dave and Jeff taking the lead of the oddball bunch with Chris, Victoria and Trish took up the rear. That arrangement, of course, left Randy and John to take the middle; John taking the side closest to the waterfront. And on the way to the designated pier- future housing arrangements and employment situations were discussed. The only two with a steady full time job were Dave and Tyson.. Chris and Lita could both claim near full time employment while Trish, Jeff and Victoria were painfully unemployed.. For the time being. Once Victoria's internship started, she too would have full time employment status…Jeff claimed he was looking, but the job market was about as bare as the cupboard in his apartment. And in Trish's case, it was a matter of time and stress.. Since she would be starting her first year in medical college, most of her time would be devoted to studies.

Trish bit her lower lip, "I would get a job.. Maybe something part time, but.. My schedule is packed. When I'm not in class, I'm cramming for class. Plus, there's the Scholarly concentration.. Which is mandatory for all medical students. I got into Stanford by the skin of my teeth as is and I didn't think I was going to but I did and--"

Lita held up her hands, the redhead turning to walk backwards. "Trish.. Take a deep breath and calm down, okay? No one is asking you to get a job, part time or full time.. We're just trying to figure out who's gonna have a job and who won't." She tucked a rampant strand of hair behind her ear, "And the only reason we need to do that is to figure out grocery money and stuff."

Victoria nodded, squeezing her friend's shoulder for support. "Don't worry about it, alright? I mean, I have a paid internship, Chris has a paid internship.. Li is going to start full time, plus--"

"Ty has a full time job and so does Dave." Lita finished for the raven haired woman, a smile sent to the blonde. "I'm just trying to think ahead, once in my life, and figure out what's what."

"I know.. I'm just really worried that I'll screw up somehow and get kicked out of Stanford." Trish smiled meekly. "I can't afford for that to happen."

Chris nodded, "Don't sweat it Trish.. Look on the bright side- you got into the Stanford School of Medicine. That's not an easy task."

The blonde woman let out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry for being such a worry wart.."

Jeff rolled his eyes good naturedly, sending a look back over his shoulder. "It's just who you are Trish."

"Everything will work out fine." Lita grinned, "I mean we survived one hellacious senior year of college…I think we're just about ready to take on anything."

Tyson rolled his eyes, "You'll find out eventually but.. That's a nice outlook to have."

The redhead stuck out her tongue, "Gee and when did you get all cynical, big brother of mine?"

"I've always been cynical," the bald man informed her seriously. "You just never noticed until now." He waited a beat before adding: "And I'm not that much older."

"Fifteen seconds," she replied without missing a beat. "Which still makes you older."

Dave raised an eyebrow at Tyson, "You never told me you had a twin sister.." He waited a beat: "And why do you have different last names?"

"She took mom's last name, I took dad's." Tyson made a face, "If you had a sister like her…you'd probably deny it too."

"Anyway," Victoria nodded up ahead, "There's Pier 43 ½ .. Which is exactly where we're supposed to be."

Trish nodded, "And with ten minutes to spare too.. We should probably find Dawn or Christian."

"There you are!" Dawn declared with a grin, the brunette shortly making her way over. "I was starting to think you had forgotten.." She paused, scrutinizing the group. "Where's my highly annoying yet still loveable cousin?"

John rolled his eyes, stepping between Tyson and Lita. "Nice to see you too Dawnie."

Dawn rolled her eyes right back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I'm glad you could make it.." Her gaze shifted to Randy, "Christian's near the gangplank with my parents and his parents."

Randy nodded shortly, stepping between Tyson and Dave. "Thanks.. I need to speak with my uncle anyway."

"Oh.." Lita glanced to the brunette, "This is Dave.. He's a co-worker of Ty's."

Dawn smiled prettily, extending her hand to him in greeting. "I'm Dawn Psaltis.. Soon to be Dawn Psaltis-Reso."

"Dave Batista," he shook her hand gently "Just a co-worker of Tyson's."

Dawn turned questioning eyes between Trish, Lita and Victoria. "Have either of you heard from Lillian? I left a message for her at home this morning but.. I haven't heard back from her yet."

Heads shook in the negative, the blonde woman replying: "I haven't talked to her or seen her since Wednesday.."

Dawn frowned, concern flooding her eyes. "I hope everything is alright.."

Chris nodded confidently, "If it wasn't.. I'm sure one of us would've heard from Lil. So, we shouldn't worry too much."

The brunette nodded, "I guess.. I'll call her before dinner starts, just to be on the safe side." She smiled brightly to John, "So.. How do you like San Fran.?"

John shrugged his shoulders slightly, the group slowly making their way to the gangplank. "It's different from Boston.. Not a lot different but still different."

She nodded, linking arms with her cousin. "Any luck with that job search?"

He shook his head, "None at all.. Dad wants me to get a job back home and I have looked but I haven't found anything."

Dawn patted his arm comfortingly, "Something will turn up I'm sure.. You can always look for a job here too, you know."

John raised an eyebrow, "I'm only going to be here until Tuesday, Dawn.. That doesn't give me a whole lot of time."

"I know.." She shrugged casually, "It's just something to think about.. I'm not really sure if there are many jobs around here either, but it can't hurt.." A thoughtful frown, "Come to think of it.. Christian's dad is looking for some interns."

"Good evening everyone," a slightly distressed Christian greeted the group. "We're going to start the boarding soon."

**xoxox**

They all fell silent then, feeling slightly out of place amongst Dawn and Christian's co-workers. Not that they could really help that part.. It was just that their circles never really mixed. While most of the co-workers were from different parts of the state or from different parts of the country, they had all grown up in the Bay Area. Added to that, while their co-workers were mostly corporate yuppies, they were recent college graduates. But they didn't let that part phase them…and really they had no reason to. It wasn't something that should bother them anyway.. Even if the co-workers at the party had an upbringing similar to Christian and Dawn.. Life on a silver platter, anything and everything handed to them at the drop of a hat. But despite that, they weren't jealous nor did they envy the corporate yuppies. Like the corporate yuppies, they had much to be proud of…and they could say that they actually worked for it. Would they say those exact words to their faces? No.. that because that would just be petty. Rather they found comfort in those thoughts and that comfort allowed them to mingle with the corporate yuppies.. If only for this one occasion.

"I swear," Trish muttered under her breath as the boat passed near the Golden Gate Bridge, "If I have to listen to one more 'success' story I'm going to jump off this boat."

Victoria snorted, "You and me both, Trish.. Up until I met these people.. Ugh. I never realized how full of themselves people can be."

Lita nodded from her spot next to the blonde, "Tell me about it.. Honestly, I thought Christian's cousin was full of himself but these people take the cake."

Victoria glanced to the man in question, "Is he really that bad? I mean I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him or anything but--"

The redhead rolled her eyes, "He did nothing but complain from the moment he set foot in the airport until we got to the apartment."

The dark haired woman shrugged, "Well if he just had a non-stop flight here.. Who knows, he could've been sitting in front of a screaming child."

"Whatever," Lita replied with an indifferent shrug. "Like I said, he's not as bad as these people but.. Given the choice of sitting in a dentist's chair and having a root canal over spending another afternoon with him? I'd take the dentist's chair."

Victoria shook her head, a curious glance sent to Trish next. "And what about Dawn's cousin? He seems like a pretty laid back kinda guy."

"He is," Trish replied simply. "I mean I didn't really get the chance to talk to him in depth or anything but, yeah.. He's pretty easy going."

"Someone save me please," Tyson pleaded as he joined the three at the railing. "This boat cruise is nice and all but I want to jump."

Victoria smiled thinly, "Join the club.. Let me guess, you got to hear the 'success' story from Jillian?"

"Worse," Tyson confessed with a smirk. "I got to hear the success story from that city cowboy over there." Idly he gestured to a male with a big cheesy smile, "If you want to save your sanity…stay as far away from him as you possibly can."

Trish nodded solemnly, "Thanks for the tip.." A curious look to the bald man, "What do you do for a living? I'm sorry if I sound rude or something, but I've known you for years and never asked."

He crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm a bouncer part time, security guard full time." He nodded then to Dave, "I met Dave after I started working at the bar."

Lita rolled her eyes, "If you ever bothered to pay attention when you came to one our gigs, you would've seen Ty." The redhead shot the blonde a look, "He works at the club upstairs."

Trish rolled her eyes right back, "Well forgive me, but you know full well that I don't like rock music. I can't help it if I'm bored to pieces at those gigs."

Victoria nodded, "Uh huh.. Either that or you're just paying too much attention to Jeff to notice anything else."

Trish raised an eyebrow, a challenging glint in her hazel eyes. "Speaking of people paying too much attention to others…"

"I love my cousin dearly, but man.." John shuddered as he joined the group at the railing. "I don't know how she can stand these people."

Lita smirked, "That's because she either works with them or they're employed by her.." Shrugging she added: "Or they work with Christian or they're employed by his father. Either way, she has to deal with them.. But that doesn't mean she likes it."

"Which she doesn't," Trish pointed out matter of factly, "Dawn complains about them at least twice a week.. Speaking of Christian though.."

John made a face, "I talked to his dad about interning with him or something.. I don't think I can do the sitting in the office, suit wearing thing."

Tyson sent him a look, "The building I work at is looking to hire a few temporary spots.. Plus the bar is always looking for another bouncer."

The brown haired man raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't that require some kind of training?"

Tyson snorted, "Most of the people who work there are morons.. But yeah, you either go through a training course provided by the company or you go to the local community college to get certified."

John nodded absently, "And how long does that take? The training course I mean.."

"Nine months," Tyson replied with a thoughtful frown, "I think anyway.. I can't remember offhand. But, it's paid training."

He nodded, "That could work for me.. I just gotta find a place to crash. I doubt Dawn'll let me stay with her for nine months."

Trish, Lita and Victoria exchanged a look.. The raven haired woman speaking first: "You know.. We do have space at the house we just bought.. And if not in the actual house, there's a one bedroom pool house. Possibly a bedroom over the garage that's pretty separate from the rest of the house."

John eyed them cautiously, "And what would you ask for rent?"

Trish frowned thoughtfully, "Well if you're working then you chip in for grocery money and standard utilities.. If you have your own television and phone, you pay your own bills…clean up after yourself and do your own laundry."

Victoria nodded, "The way we're figuring.. The more people we have living there, the less everyone is going to chip in.. the house has already been paid for, we just have to worry about taxes and stuff. But even that, you won't have to worry about."

John remained doubtful, "Let me get this straight. You'd invite me.. A complete stranger to all of y'all to live with you? Who else is living in this house?"

Lita nodded to her brother, "My brother Ty, his co-worker Dave, our two buddies Chris and Jeff.. Plus the three of us.. It's a six bedroom, but we've got a full basement plus the pool house and possibly that one bedroom over the garage."

"Possibly," he echoed dubiously, "But that's not definite."

Trish nodded, "Well yeah.. But we're going to see the house again next week. Figure out who's going to take which bedroom and all that. You can come with us if you want, not like a commitment sort of thing but just to see.." She pouted playfully, "At least think about it.."

The brown haired man nodded slowly, "I'll think about it.. I'm not gonna say yes or no, just yet because I don't even know if I will be sticking around here."

**xoxox**

The three women nodded at that, the entire group at the railing more than ready for the boat to get back to the pier. While they admitted yes, a sunset cruise around the bay was a nice treat.. They wished it could've been under better circumstances. But there were still some positives that resulted from the cruise.. Not only did John have a potential place of employment, but he was a possible house-mate. Granted, they would admit that the more people living there would make for more cramped living space…but even that had to be better then previous living arrangements. Added to that, the more people that lived there would mean the less that everyone would have to chip in for grocery money and utilities. Of course, the wide range of personalities might make for awkward moments.. But so would a mixed gender household. All in all, none of them really knew what they would be getting into. To some extent the thought scared them and on the other hand, they didn't care. At any rate, they all suffered through the rest of the cruise, suffering a little bit more through the engagement dinner. And by the time dessert was being served, Lita was more then ready to run for the hills.. But, thanks to a phone call, she was saved from taking such action.

"I'm sorry about that," she offered an apologetic smile when she returned to the table. "Emergency at the shelter.."

Trish eyed raised an eyebrow from her spot across the table. "Is everything okay?"

Lita shook her head, gathering her purse from the chair. "I have to get down there quick.." she trailed off, biting her lower lip. "I'm really sorry Dawn, it's just--"

The brunette smiled, "It's alright Li.. I mean, it's your job.." she stood, offering her friend a quick hug. "You'll be at the brunch tomorrow, right?"

The redhead nodded, "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Dawn." She squeezed her friend's hands. "Congratulations." Lita offered a wave to John and Victoria, turning again to exit the restaurant.

Tyson sent his sister a questioning look as she filed past, "Sis? What's up?"

She squeezed his shoulder, "There's an emergency down at the shelter.. I have to go." Hazel eyes shifted to Dave, "It was nice meeting you!"

Christian met her at the exit, the blonde man also fielding a phone call. "Something wrong Li?"

Lita smiled, hazel eyes glinting apologetically. "There's an emergency down at the shelter, I'm on call tonight so.." She squeezed his shoulder quickly, "Congratulations C.. I'll see you tomorrow at brunch."

The blonde man nodded, "Thanks for coming and drive safe, alright?"

"I will.." She wrapped her arms around herself, making her way quickly out of the foyer.. And no sooner had she gotten to the sidewalk, did a voice beckon from the restaurant.

"Hey!" Randy called out from the sidewalk, "Where are you going?"

Lita paused where she was, "I'm on call tonight at the shelter and there was an emergency.." She fidgeted, "I have to go."

Randy frowned, closing the distance with long strides. "I guess you forgot that you have my stuff."

"Shit.." the redhead let out a sigh. "I have to be there.. Can't you get someone else to take you wherever you need to go?"

He shrugged, "Unless it's Christian or his dad.. I'm staying with them."

"Damn it.." her cell phone beckoned again, Lita promising her shift supervisor she would be there. "I--"

"Unless your supervisor minds--"

The redhead held up a hand, indicating for him to wait.. And while he waited, she talked to her supervisor. Finally she turned to him.

"You'll need to sign a release form when we get there.." She dug through her purse, grabbing her car keys. "Absolutely nothing you see leaves that building."

He held up his hands, walking beside her. "I promise, alright? It's not like I know many people around here to talk to."

Lita rolled her eyes, the two quickly covering the distance between the restaurant and the parking garage. "This job means a lot to me, alright? I can't afford to screw up in any way."

Randy rolled his eyes right back, "I won't touch anything, I won't talk to anyone.. If it'll make you feel better, I'll sit in the car."

The redhead huffed, the two coming to a brief stop before they dashed across the street. "That might be the best route to take."

Randy eyed her warily once they had crossed, "So after you're done with whatever you need to do.."

"I'll take you to Christian's alright?" She let out a low sigh, "Damn it, I don't know where he lives."

"I'll call him now or when we get there," Randy stopped when she did, waiting until she had unlocked the car. "Look, I'm sorry for being such an ass earlier, it's just.. I'm under a lot of pressure from my dad right now."

The redhead blinked, "Where the hell did that come from?"

He waited until they were both in the vehicle, "Under the advice of Christian and Dawn.. That's where."

Lita rolled her eyes, but rather then retort the 'apology' she merely nodded. "Well I can't make apologies for being me so.." the redhead left it that, the two falling silent as she pulled out of the parking spot.

Randy was silent until they reached the highway, "Just where is this shelter?"

"South Bay Area," she replied out of instinct, "It's in Palo Alto and as long as traffic isn't bad, we'll get there in about half an hour."

"Is that all?" He replied sardonically, "So what time are we gonna get back into San Francisco?"

She gripped the steering wheel, "Whenever I'm done, plus another half hour, alright? I don't know how long it's gonna take." Lita gritted her teeth, "And you were the one who suggested you come along for the ride, so don't even start with your little drama queen routine."

Randy huffed, "Oh so now we're back to name calling, huh?"

Lita rolled her eyes, "You were the one who called me.. Oh now, what was it? A psycho bitch?" The redhead scoffed, "I can honestly say, you are just about the rudest asshole I have ever met."

Randy snorted, "Well that's just the pot calling the kettle black, now isn't it? I hadn't even been in this famed city by the bay for more than five minutes when you--"

"Before you even think about saying whatever it is you were going to say?" Lita spared a glance, jaw clenching before she finished: "Just shut up. I have enough to worry about right now."

He shot her a withering glare, crossing his arms over his chest as they continued down the highway. And this time, the silence held until they arrived in Palo Alto.

Lita let out a heavy sigh as she parked the car. "Now, you go ahead.. Sit tight, keep the doors locked. Call Christian while you're waiting.. I don't know when I'll be done, but--"

"Is it safe for me to be here?"

With a causal shrug, she replied: "As long as you lock the doors, yeah.. I mean, I know my car doesn't look like a prime target or anything… but with all of the crap that's piled in the backseat--"

"Then I'm going inside with you," Randy unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'll call Christian from there…who knows, maybe I'll find a nice book to pass the time with."

Lita couldn't help but laugh at that, "I'm sure there are some books that'll be right up your alley.. This is a children's shelter and Dr. Seuss is in high demand here."

"Ha ha," he supplied dryly. "And here I was hoping they'd have some books on tape."

She paused as they reached the steps, "I'd say something but.. I'm in a rush."

A slim brunette greeted the approaching two. "Thank goodness you're here.." She raised an eyebrow at Randy: "Who the hell are you?"

Lita pinched the bridge of her nose, "Ivory this is Randy Orton.. Christian's cousin." She motioned before her, "Randy this is my supervisor, Ivory Moretti."

Ivory nodded, "Uh huh.. Well, I'd say it's nice to meet you, but.. We're in a bit of crisis right now." She hustled the two inside, reaching shortly for a clipboard. "If you could just sign these release forms.."

The redhead glanced to her supervisor, questioning her when they were out of hearing range. "So what's up?"

Ivory grimaced, "Six new arrivals.. Within minutes of each other if you can believe it.." She raked a hand through her hair, "One set of two siblings and four singles.. We've also got a set of three siblings who returned." A beat passed: "He's got a nice ass."

Lita rolled her eyes, "And he's an asshole.." the redhead kicked off her shoes, sitting next to peel off her stockings. "Where am I needed?"

The brunette thumbed to a nearby hallway, "Terri's with the siblings, a new girl is taking on two of the singles and Jackie has the other two.." She waited until the redhead was on her now bare feet. "Devon and his siblings were the three who returned."

Hazel eyes flooded with concern, "Not again.." she trailed off, biting her lower lip. "Who brought them here?"

The elder woman smiled sadly, "Devon.. They were with their dad and.. Something happened." She shook her head, "D won't talk to anyone, Li."

Lita mustered a smile, "I'll do my best, Ivory, but I can't make any promises."

Ivory rolled her eyes good naturedly, nudging the redhead. "He refused to talk to anyone until you got here.." She opened her mouth to say more, when Randy approached the two. "I do have some files that need to be put away and there's always cleaning that needs to be done.." An eyebrow raised, "Or you can give Lita a hand."

Randy's response was to follow behind the redhead, the two soon disappearing through one of the doors. Just as Ivory had stated, Devon and his two siblings were waiting in the hallway. Randy estimated the boy couldn't have been more than nine years old, but.. Lita quietly informed him that Devon was turning twelve on Christmas. A younger boy and a little girl were on either side of the now smiling eleven year old; Randy soon learning that they were Matthew and McKenzie respectively. And while Devon talked to Lita, McKenzie and Matthew requested a story. The dark haired man soon found himself seated on the floor, six year old Matthew to his right while three year old McKenzie was leaning against his left knee. Of course, he had already started reading a fourth story to the two when he realized he hadn't called his cousin yet. It figured that Lita and Devon were in another part of the shelter when that realization came to him.. And since neither McKenzie or Matthew seemed willing to let him leave…he continued on with the story.


	4. Chapter 3

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** I do not claim to know any statistics about the shelter.. It is based on a real one, but for sake of the piece any places of employment are pretty much made up.

Thank you all for the kind reviews! I have ideas, many, many ideas for this piece.

**xoxox**

By the time Devon was settled in his usual room at the shelter, McKenzie and Matthew had fallen fast asleep. It took a good fifteen minutes to get the two settled in the same room as Devon, but that still didn't mean that Lita and Randy could leave just yet. With as much patience as she could gather, Lita calmly informed the dark haired man that she still had paperwork to fill out. And while she did that, Randy settled himself in the lobby to finally call his cousin.. Or at least that had been the intent until he realized how late it was. Granted, it wasn't very late, but it was still late enough that Randy figured his cousin wouldn't appreciate the call. Added to that, he didn't know anyone else in the area…save of course the people he had met that day. One of whom, happened to be standing a few feet away. But, given the not so good way their meeting had started, he wasn't quite so sure if asking her for a place to stay would be the best option. Logically though, it was his best option, if not the most convenient option at that moment. Still, it took another half hour before he had the opportunity to bring up the issue. Even though Lita had finished the necessary paperwork within fifteen minutes, her supervisor had needed her for a 'quick' meeting. The two women had then disappeared into an office behind the front desk, Randy using that window of time to rest his jet-lagged body.

Red locks were swept away from her face as Lita stepped out of the office. "Yeah.. I'll be here for the meeting.." She sent a wave over her shoulder, her shoes dangling from her fingertips. "See you tomorrow afternoon, Ivory." Hazel eyes glinted apologetically, "I'm really sorry about this.. It's just--"

He held up a hand, "It's not that big of a deal.. Even if I did end up playing babysitter." Yawning, he stretched his arms out. "It's not like I had anywhere else to go. And besides, I couldn't just leave those two sitting there like that."

She rolled her eyes, the shoes dropped to the linoleum floor with a thud. "Well still.. I'm sure McKenzie and Matthew are grateful. And if they aren't, I know me and Ivory are." Shrugging slightly, she added: "When things get this busy here.. It's a times like these we realize how short-staffed we really are."

"Are things really that bad? I mean, I don't really know what the turnover rate is like for this field of employment but.." Randy rolled his shoulders as he stood, "I'm just curious, so don't feel like you have to answer or something."

"Turnover isn't so bad, it's finding people who have the right background, experience and education." Lita bit her lower lip, slipping on her high heels as she did so. "This shelter, for example, is one of many in the greater Bay Area…but also one of the most short staffed."

He nodded, "So… I, uh, never got the chance to call Christian and since it's getting late, I'm not sure if he'd appreciate it if I called him now.."

Lita expelled a heavy sigh, "You can crash at the apartment…obviously, you know it'll be cramped but that's probably the best option right now." Smirking slightly, she added: "But only after we stop somewhere so I can grab a bite to eat."

Randy shrugged, his suit jacket slung over his shoulder. "Whatever.. I mean, it's not like I have a car or anything to take me to wherever I need to go."

"I really am sorry for keeping ya here," Lita began the search for her car keys as they exited. "Honestly, I didn't think it was gonna take me this long."

He yawned, "Well you had said it was an emergency.."

She nodded, "Yeah.. You must be exhausted though, 'cos I know I'm beat.. And I didn't have a non-stop flight earlier."

"I can't exactly say I'm ready to run a marathon or anything," he mustered a tiny grin. "But I should be okay for another hour or so."

"Well if it wasn't so late, I'd say enjoy the view going back to San Fran.. But," she paused as she unlocked the car. "The skyline is really nice.. Driving from this direction."

Randy nodded slightly, "I guess I'll find out.. If I can stay awake, anyway." He yawned again as he slipped into the passengers seat.

Lita nodded as she settled into the drivers seat. "At least traffic won't be a mess.. Or at least not until we get closer to San Fran."

With the seat leaning back as far as it could, Randy stretched out his legs. "You said you're from Berkeley, right?"

"Yup.." she confirmed, the car backing out of it's parking spot. "Which is across the bay.. Along with Oakland, Alameda, Richmond and a bunch of other places. Bay Area's pretty big."

"I kinda figured," another yawn emitted from the dark haired man. "Ever been to St. Louis?"

She shook her head, "Nope.. I've been to Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada.. But so far, never across the Mississippi."

Randy almost looked impressed, "And what about outside of the North American continent?"

Lita frowned thoughtfully, "Right before college, I did the backpacking through Europe thing with Vikki and Trish.. Umm, I also spent one semester and one summer term in Brazil." A pause as they reached the intersection, "Oh.. And my sophomore year of high school, I spent most of the year as an exchange student in Japan."

An eyebrow raised in slight interest, "You spent a year in Japan?"

"Almost eight months, actually.." She glanced sideways while she waited for the light to change. "Why?"

"Because, I think I was there right around that time." Smirking slightly, he added: "I also spent eight months as an exchange student in Japan."

She blinked, "Seriously? What school and city?"

"I was in Osaka."

Lita smiled wryly, "Now I remember you.." she shook her head as the car pulled into the parking lot of a diner. "You haven't changed that much, ya know.. You were a jerk then and a jerk now."

Randy snorted, "You haven't changed that much either. Come to think of it, I can remember this blonde tomboy giving me hell the first day."

"Yeah? And I can remember this skinny kid picking on me the first night." She raised an eyebrow, "Funny.. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes."

He laughed, unbuckling his seat belt when the car parked. "Alright, so neither of us has changed that much.." Randy eyed her a moment, "Except your hair color and you grew a little bit--"

"And you, hopefully, grew a brain."

Randy rolled his eyes, "And now I remember why I tried so hard to forget those eight months. Being in Japan was fun, it was new and different.. Most of the students were okay."

"My sentiments, exactly." Lita took a moment to alarm the car, "But that was also what.. Six or seven years ago, right? I'd like to think we can both move past that."

**xoxox**

Silently, Randy nodded his agreement; the two then heading inside the diner so Lita could grab her late night meal. Granted, Lita did find it quite odd that she hadn't recognized the man sitting across from her.. But then, she figured it was because they had both changed and grown since that school year in Osaka. Physically, of course, but also mentally. In some ways they had matured, but obviously in others, they hadn't. Lita admitted that yes, she did find it funny.. Six years had passed and their meeting yesterday afternoon, had been much like their first meeting in Osaka. But, because it had been six years ago, the two decided that now would be a good time to start over completely. And it was over the late night meal and coffee that the two traded stories about the past four years in college. Lita also informed him about J-Town.. Or her home away from home away from home in San Francisco. Coincidentally, it was also one of Devon's favorite places to visit.

"This kid loves baseball, football, basketball, soccer, hockey, skiing, skateboarding, roller lading.. You name it.." Lita shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And he loves going to baseball games, basketball games, football games. Just about anything and everything."

Randy drained the last of his coffee, "He sounds like a handful."

The redhead nodded, "He can be sometimes.. But, Devon is a great kid. Really smart, protective of his brother and sister."

He eyed her curiously, "How long have you been working with him? Or is that classified information?"

Lita picked at the remaining food on her plate. "I met him my junior year of high school.. Our girl scout troop started doing some more volunteer work with local elementary schools and shelters."

Randy set aside the empty coffee mug. "So pretty much his whole life then?"

"Pretty much, yeah.." She wiped at the corners of her mouth. "Well, if it was late before.. It's really late now, so we should probably get out of here."

"Right, the brunch tomorrow and whatever." Randy drummed his fingers on the table top. "Where is that taking place?"

Lita bit her lower lip in thought, grabbing the check as she slipped out of her seat. "Either Chapeau or Q. I'm sure Trish or Vikki will know." She waited a moment, "Can I ask you something?"

Randy eyed her warily, "About what?"

"It's nothing bad," she stated quickly. "I'm just wondering why you majored in Earth and Planetary Sciences."

Randy rolled his eyes, "Well.. My dad wanted me to major in business or accounting--"

"Yuck."

"Or go pre-law."

Lita wrinkled her nose, "Double yuck.. So why--"

"It looked interesting," Randy waited until they had both settled back in the car. "I'm not sure what I'll do now, but.. For at the time, it worked."

The redhead nodded, "Well there's always graduate level--" Lita cut herself off as her cell phone beckoned. "What the hell?" Smiling apologetically, she brought the object to ear level. "Talk to me.."

"Li?" Trish replied from the other end, "Can you pick up some milk, cereal, microwave popcorn and--" The blonde woman cupped the phone with her hand, "Vikki? What else do we need?"

"Soda.." the raven haired woman called from the living room, "And beer."

Trish scrunched up her nose, "And soda.. Don't get the beer."

Lita blinked at the dashboard, "Why am I getting this at.. 12:30?"

"Because we have company.." Trish twirled a lock of hair around her index finger. "Jeff and Chris' apartment got flooded and they needed a place to crash."

"Great.." the redhead sighed, "I've got Randy with me.. Along with all of his stuff. He never got the chance to call Christian and--"

"So, just come back here." The blonde woman shrugged nonchalantly, "It'll just be a little more cramped than usual."

Lita snorted, "Just a little? Trish.. Were you or were you not paying attention. One extra person is manageable, but three?"

Trish rolled her eyes, "Li.. Just trust me, okay? We'll be fine."

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose, "As much as I regret this.. Fine, I'll go pick up milk, cereal, popcorn and soda."

"Where are you two anyway?"

"Just leaving Palo Alto.." Lita paused at the intersection, "We just go done eating a few minutes ago.. And before that, we were still at the shelter."

"Oh.." a moment of silence from Trish's end. "Well we're just watching movies and stuff.. Because there's never anything on right now and--"

"Why don't you guys hit the city?"

"We thought about it, but we'd rather just stay in.." another pause, "Especially since we have the brunch to go tomorrow."

Lita nodded at the phone, a grocery store soon coming into view. "I'm at the store now, so.. I'll see ya in about half an hour." She waited until the dial tone hit her ears, the cell phone tossed back in her purse. "Looks like it'll be a little more cramped then I had thought."

Randy yawned widely, "Are you sure you'll have the space?"

She shrugged, finding a parking spot near the entrance. "We'll find out, I guess." The redhead unbuckled her seatbelt, "Do you want anything aside from what's already been requested?"

"As long as you have coffee.. I'll be okay." He cracked a lopsided smile. "Thanks for asking, though."

**xoxox**

Lita nodded in response, exiting the vehicle shortly after to get the requested groceries for their impromptu guests. While it wasn't highly uncommon for either Chris or Jeff to crash with them for a night, this would be the first time both men would stay over. But even that wouldn't have been that big of a deal.. The three female room-mates had pretty much grown up with the two male room-mates. Co-ed sleepovers, when they were younger, weren't unheard of. Still, that had been years ago.. And the last time they all shared sleeping quarters was when they had taken a winter ski trip to Colorado. Even with the doubts she had about the six of them sharing such cramped quarters, Lita shook it off. It was only for one night anyway and they had to be at the brunch site by 10:00. And with the long day she had , all Lita wanted to do at that point was sleep. But as the car got closer to it's destination, the redhead got the feeling that sleep would be hard to come by.

"Hey.." Lita gently nudged the sleeping passenger. "Randy.. If you want to go on and crash, just head on up to the back bedroom."

Randy opened an eye, "Is there even a mattress in that room?"

The redhead rolled her eyes, "There should be.. And if there's not, I'll ask Trish where she put my bed."

He raised an eyebrow, "You don't have to give up your room.."

Lita shrugged, gathering the grocery bag from the backseat. "It's not a big deal.. I doubt I'll be sleeping much anyway.. And besides, I felt like I kinda owed you for helping out at the shelter."

"Alright.." Randy stretched out his arms. "I'm too tired to argue with you.. .so.. Thanks."

"No biggie.." she swept her hair from her face, "Besides.. All of the luggage in this car is yours. I can't possibly carry it up there by myself and unless you want to leave it in here--"

He held up a hand in mock defense, "I'll carry my luggage. Or at least some of it." When she raised an eyebrow, he continued: "I won't need all of my stuff with me for one night. Just one bag will do."

At that, she nodded…the two then exiting the vehicle to make their way up to the third floor apartment.

"Hey Li!" Trish greeted brightly when the door swung open. "And Randy."

Lita responded first by handing over the grocery bag. "How the hell can you be so damn perky?"

The blonde woman thumbed over her shoulder, "Jeff, Chris and Vikki are playing twister."

The redhead rolled her eyes, "I don't see how the four of you can be this freakin' awake right now."

"And just what's wrong with you?" Jeff questioned from the nearby living room. "Things that bad at the shelter?"

"It's a long story, but yeah.. That about sums it up right." Lita kicked off her shoes, glancing between Jeff and Chris. "So, can one of you tell me why you're here?"

Chris raised an eyebrow, "As Trish told you.. The plumbing in our apartment went haywire. We had nowhere else to go."

Victoria blinked as Randy walked past them, heading straight down the small hallway leading to the bedrooms. "Umm.. Li?"

Lita waved it off, "Relax Vikki.. I told him to crash in my room because it's the farthest from the living room."

The dark haired woman nodded slowly, "Right.. So that explains why he's sleeping in there.."

"Like I said to Jeff, long story at the shelter.." Smirking slightly, she went on, "To put some detail into it.. I had to talk to D, Randy ended up playing storyteller to McKenzie and Matthew."

Trish bit her lower lip, "They're back again?"

Lita nodded in confirmation, "Plus there were six new arrivals.. If not for the new staff member, I would've been there longer."

Victoria let out a low whistle, "Any word on the fate of the shelter? Last you told us, the shelter was at risk of being closed."

The redhead sighed, "It's on the agenda for the next staff meeting. One of the issues that might have lead to our shut down was lack of staff.. But, that's been resolved for the time being." Hands raked through her hair, "It still doesn't guarantee we'll stay open though. Because the building is in such crappy shape, there's no real playground on the property.. That place is a mess."

Chris nodded, settling on the floor next to the couch. "So what'll happen if you do get shut down?"

Lita shrugged, "Then we either merge with another shelter or look for new space.." She sat back on the couch, arms crossing loosely over her chest. "More than likely we look for a new space.. Start from scratch, I guess."

Jeff sent her a questioning look, "What'll happen to the kids?"

"Temporary foster care or re-locating to another shelter." The redhead yawned, "I'm sure Ivory will cover it all at the meeting."

Trish swept her hair from her face, the blonde woman currently standing in front of the microwave. "It'll work out Li. Just don't give up hope.. Or, you can give the city or county hell when they make the decision."

Lita snorted, "I'd do that anyway. It's like they don't understand the important issues, just look at the ones that'll get them the votes from the wealthy percentage of the population."

Victoria smiled wryly, "Unfortunately, that's the way politics tends to work.. But, enough about that crap.. It's the weekend. We shouldn't be talking about all of this.."

"Incredibly boring shit?" Chris offered from his spot on the floor. "Can we please switch topics? I've got this theory that.. The more something is brought up, that's what I'll end up covering when I start my internship."

Trish shook her head, a sly glint in her hazel eyes as she turned her attention to Lita. "You and Randy seem to be getting along better…"

The redhead snorted, "You won't believe this but.. Do you remember sophomore year of high school? I did the exchange student thing ."

Jeff nodded from his spot in one of the two chairs. "You spent almost all of that year in Osaka, Japan."

Lita nodded, "Remember that jerk I told you about in almost every letter I sent?"

Trish snickered, "Don't tell me it was him.."

Lita smirked, "One and the same. It figures that we'd start trading insults the moment we re-met."

"That's one hell of a coincidence," Victoria shook her head, "I remember how much you said you loved that year.. Except for one person."

"I can't believe you forgot." Trish removed the popcorn from the microwave. "It's not like it happened that long ago."

The redhead shrugged, "I remember the year perfectly.. It's the unpleasant parts I chose to forget."

"Or part," Chris amended with a wry smile. "From the few letters I got from you.. I recall you being on the verge of killing him."

Lita nodded, "I was pretty damn close.. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Tommy and Rob, I would've killed him."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, "You mean to tell me that Tommy and Rob actually discouraged a violent act? I'm impressed."

"They told me to wait until we were in the airport or something.." Lita shook her head, "That way I could just blame someone else."

Jeff bridged his hands behind his head. "Those two claim they'll be at the brunch. Just like they said they'd show up for the engagement thing."

"Uh huh.." Victoria shook her head, "Just like they said they would be at the graduation party.. Or that they'd show up for the ski trip."

Trish rolled her eyes at the two, "Well it's not like they can up and abandon the dojo anytime they choose. Those two worked really hard just to open that place and now it's one of the more successful in the area."

In turn, the group in the living room nodded.. Or at least most of them did. Weary from the day's activities, Lita had fallen fast asleep on the couch. And since they needed the couch space, the redheaded woman was transferred to the tiny fourth bedroom. Once she was settled there, the four in the living room arranged themselves between the couch and the floor to continue with the mini-movie marathon. Of course, they knew, it really wasn't the wisest idea on their parts.. Especially with the brunch starting at 10:00 sharp. But since none of them were really tired at that moment, they figured watching movies was the next best thing. As opposed to what, they weren't exactly sure.. But if anything, watching movies could tire them out. Added to that, none of them really felt like driving anywhere and all of the places within walking distance were closed. As such, the four soon to be housemates, settled in to watch movies while Randy and Lita slept.


	5. Chapter 4

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** I do not claim to know any statistics about the shelter.. It is based on a real one, but for sake of the piece any places of employment are pretty much made up.

Thank you all for the kind reviews! I have ideas, many, many ideas for this piece.

**xoxox**

While all six occupants of the apartment had to be at the same brunch, that didn't necessarily mean they were all awake in time. Somehow, Lita found herself awake before the rest of the impromptu room-mates, thus securing her spot as first in the shower. The next fortunate soul turned out to be Jeff and once he was out of the shower, the two made themselves comfortable in the living room to wait for the others. Suffice it to say, by the time the last person had moved from a sleeping spot and to the shower, they had a little under fifteen minutes to get to the brunch site. Normally, that wouldn't big deal.. Especially if it had only been Lita, Trish and Victoria. But, with the added presence of Chris, Jeff and Randy, some re-arrangements in transportation were called for. It made sense that Randy would hitch a ride with the redhead, taking into consideration that all of his luggage was still in the trunk of her car. The problem, trivial as it was, came up when Chris, Jeff, Trish and Victoria were trying to determine who would hitch a ride with who. That 'argument' shaved another five minutes off of the window of time they had to get from the apartment to the brunch site.. Lita growing more impatient with each passing second. When it became apparent that the four still arguing wouldn't stop their argument any time soon.. Lita took it upon herself to intervene. Subsequently, Jeff, Chris and Victoria soon found themselves within Trish's car.. Lita and Randy trailing close behind as they finally left the apartment.

"Kill joy.." Trish muttered under her breath, "It looks like Christian's _absolutely_ charming step-brother is here…"

Victoria blinked, craning her neck to peek through the seats in front of her. "Huh?"

The blonde woman rolled her eyes, "He's right over there.. With Christian and Dawn.." A sigh later, and Trish found herself pointing to a display of flowers, "See? Right there."

Chris scowled openly, "I thought he would've gotten the hint the last time." The blonde man shook his head, exiting the vehicle once Trish had parked. "Don't get me wrong, Christian is cool.. It's his step brother I have a problem with."

"We all do," Trish remarked dryly. "But, for Christian's sake, I guess we better play nice."

"Hey look.." Lita grinned brightly once she had caught up with the four, "It's an elusive Tommy and Rob sighting."

Jeff nodded, "Well that's one good thing, yeah? Christian's step-brother is here too."

Randy cursed under his breath, "Damn it.. I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with him again."

Victoria raised an eyebrow at the dark haired male, "I take it you don't like him either.."

"It's mutual," Randy replied casually. "The last time I saw him was at Christmas.. Some blood was almost spilled, but no big deal."

"No big deal," Chris echoed incredulously. "What'd he do to piss you off?"

Before Randy had the chance to respond, Dawn and John made their way over.

"Good morning.." Dawn greeted first, "I think everyone's here already so.. We're just having cocktails before we head inside." Dark eyes flickered to the redhead, "How'd everything turn out at the shelter?"

Lita smiled tightly, "I'll fill ya in later, Dawn.. I'd rather just forget about it right now."

The brunette woman nodded hesitantly, the six soon following after Dawn and John to join the others for the brunch.

"Ladies.." Christian greeted smoothly, "And gentlemen.. Please, we're just enjoying cocktails before we head inside for brunch." The blonde man gestured to the bar in the corner, before turning back to them. "I believe you all are acquainted with everyone already.. As you can see, only close friends and family members are here this morning."

Trish smiled warmly, "Thanks Christian.. I think we could all use a good strong kick of something to help us wake up."

"Good morning," a new voice chimed in shortly. "It's good to see you all again."

Victoria nodded shortly in response, "Good morning, Adam." A smile alit her face, though dark eyes sparked with malice. "How have you been?"

"Well thank you," the smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes as he took in the sight before him. "How have you all been?"

Randy only offered a short smile, "I'll just be over there.." he gestured offhandedly to the bar, before making a swift departure.

The five remaining blinked at the departure, but shook it off none the less.. Jeff finally replying to Adam's question. "I can't speak for everyone, but things are going good.. Aside from the plumbing issues at the apartment, anyway."

Chris nodded absently, "I'm set to start my internship with the Chronicle in a few weeks.. I'm hoping that'll lead to a full time position."

Lita offered her best smile, addressing her friends first. "I think I'm gonna go catch up with Tommy and Rob.." Turning back to Adam, hazel eyes waxed cold. "Good to see you again, Copeland."

Jeff frowned at the retreating back of the redheaded woman, green eyes turning back to the blonde man before them. "Why don't you do us all a favor.. Stay away from her."

Adam scowled, "Look, it's not my fault that she--"

"Shut up," Trish interrupted sharply. "Don't even try to half ass your way out of this, Adam. We all know what happened." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she smiled. "Like Jeff said, stay away from her and we won't have any problems."

Adam held up his hands in mock defense, "Fine.. Have it your way. I won't talk to her, I won't go near her and I won't even look at her."

"Hey Vikki, Trish.." Rob greeted as the two joined them. "What's up?"

The dark haired woman shrugged, "It's going.. We're finally moving out of that hell hole and into a real house."

"So I've heard," Rob grinned. "I'm remodeling my place, actually.. Putting on an expansion, finally working on the garden."

Trish smiled, "Well that's great news, Rob.. How're things at the dojo?"

"Busy as ever," Tommy supplied with a wry smile. "But, I'd rather have it busy then dead."

Chris chuckled, "Well it's good to see you two.. Considering you've bailed on just about every trip we've planned in the past year."

Rob held up a hand in mock defense, "Dude.. So not our fault, alright? One of us always had to be at the dojo, and we can't help it if everyone wants to join."

**xoxox**

A good natured laugh filtered through Jeff, Chris, Trish, Vikki and Lita.. The six soon realizing that the brunch was finally starting. That resulted in the gathering of beverages while everyone made their way inside. As expected, Dawn's parents had rented out the restaurant for the occasion.. The upscale establishment relatively empty, save for the small party. Not that a party of nearly thirty people was on the small side, but it went without saying that the chosen establishment was losing some money.. Or perhaps they weren't considering whom they had rented it out to. Whatever the case, family members from either the Psaltis or Reso were split up amongst close friends. The lone exception to the arrangement, was Dawn, Christian and their parents taking the head table. Trish currently found herself with Jeff, John, three of Christian's cousins and one of Dawn's uncles. Victoria, meanwhile, found herself with Tommy, Chris, two of Dawn's cousins, one of Christian's cousins and one of Christian's aunts. And while they were apparently enjoying the present company, Lita was not. She could most certainly tolerate Rob and one of the distant relations of Dawn that were there.. The redhead could also say that she could tolerate Randy. The persons she had a problem with, however, were Adam and his equally annoying cousin, Christy.

"So…" Christy drew the word out, her attention falling solely on Lita. "How've things been with you, Li?"

Lita smiled thinly, stabbing at a piece of fruit on her plate with added force. "Good, actually.. I'm thinking about going for my master's next year."

"That's great news!" Christy chirped brightly, "And have you heard from…oh what was his name again…Jeff's brother?"

Lita set down the fork in her hand, "I haven't.. but from what Jeff has told me, Matt and Ashley are doing great. They just bought a condo in Phoenix."

"I see.." Christy nodded slowly, the smile never leaving her face. "Last I had heard.. They were engaged."

Rob masked a glare at the bubbly woman, his attention falling to Randy shortly after. "You look familiar, but I can't place from where.."

Randy rolled his shoulders, "Unless you went to Washington University in St. Louis.."

Lita turned slightly amused hazel orbs to Rob, "Remember Osaka? Sophomore year of high school?" Nodding back to Randy, she continued: "He was there too."

Rob let out a low whistle, "Man you've changed.. I think anyway, because I never really had the chance to talk to you back then."

Randy chuckled, "More like you didn't want to.. We weren't on the best of terms, back then."

"That too," Rob admitted easily. "But, whatever man.. That was then, this is now. I don't even remember what happened so.." He shrugged it off, "How's life?"

The dark haired man shrugged, "It's going.. Trying to figure out what I can do with a degree in Earth and Planetary sciences but.. I can't complain."

Rob frowned thoughtfully, "There's always the Lawrence Hall of Sciences.. I'm not sure what they have in the job department, but you could look into that.. If you're staying out this way, anyway."

Randy nodded, "Lita mentioned that, actually.. I'm not really sure what I'll do, but I'll figure it out. And in the meantime, I work for my uncle."

"Do you really?" Adam questioned with false interest. "I'm doing the same while I finish grad school."

"Good for you," Randy quipped dryly. "Really, Adam.. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Christy set down her napkin, "Are you still working at the shelter, Lita? Or have you found something else?"

Lita pushed her plate of half eaten food aside, "Still at the shelter.. And are you still working at McDonald's or have you found something better?"

While the atmosphere at that table was tense, the atmosphere at Trish's table was quite the opposite. "So, John.." the blonde woman sent a glance across the table, "Have you given any thought to seeing the house with us?"

John rolled his eyes good naturedly, "I thought I didn' have a choice in that.. You pretty much insisted I at least take a look."

Jeff snorted, "If it's any consolation, me and Chris will be there too.. I know how much of a handful those girls can be."

"We aren't that bad," Trish pouted playfully at the green eyed man. "And besides which, when we got news that we got the house, you and Chris asked about moving in with us."

"Yeah? That's because our apartment isn't much better than yours." Jeff shrugged casually, "We can't let you three live all alone in a big house like that, anyway."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes, "Honestly Jeff.. Living there is far safer than living in the city. I'm sure we could manage perfectly fine without you and Chris."

Jeff let out an overdramatic sigh, "You wound me.. And I know you can't possibly mean that. I mean really, what would you three do without us?"

"Lead lives that are a little less on the insane side?" Trish supplied without missing a beat. "But, yeah.. You're right.. Something just wouldn't be right without the two of you around to pester us."

Green eyes rolled good naturedly, "You three pester us just as much, if not more so.. And you three have been doing it longer."

Trish nodded solemnly, "You just keep telling yourself that.. Maybe one of these days, you'll believe it." Raising an eyebrow, she added: "Do you or do you not remember who started the playground war in kindergarten?"

"That was revenge for the three of you invading our tree house," Jeff reminded with a playful tone. "Remember that?"

John glanced between the two, "Has it always been like this?"

"Pretty much," Trish sipped her orange juice. "Or at least for as long as I can remember.. Jeff and his brother grew up across the street from me. Chris grew up next door to Li and--"

"So how did y'all meet?"

The blonde woman bit her lower lip in thought, "Well.. Me, Vikki, Dawn and Li were in girl scouts together.. And before we started going to girl scout camp, we went to another summer camp. That's how all of us pretty much met.. Plus, our parents knew each other through work or something.."

John nodded, glancing then to Jeff. "When do I meet your brother then?"

Jeff coughed, "Unless you plan on taking a trip to Phoenix, you probably won't.. he moved down there a few months ago." The green eyed man rested his forearms on either side of his plate, "He said he'd try and come up for the wedding though.."

**xoxox**

Whatever John was going to say to that, he was spared.. Or stopped. Whatever the case, he was interrupted as Dawn stood from her spot at the front of the room. Quite graciously, she thanked everyone for attending, her parents joining her shortly after. Before all of the guests could leave, however, a few were asked to stay for a moment. Fortunately for Lita, Christy was not amongst those asked to stay behind.. Unfortunately for them all, Adam was. At any rate, those remaining waited until the dining room had been cleared, then gathering near the head table to speak with Dawn and Christian. Trish was guessing that it had to do with the wedding in some form or another.. Why else would they be asked to stay? Especially since the engagement party had been the night before.. Something to do with the wedding would make the most sense. And if that was the case, the only question remaining was why were they being asked to stay behind?

Dawn cleared her throat, "Okay.. Christian and I want to start planning the wedding party. And, when I was trying to figure out who to appoint as my maid of honor, I couldn't decide." She glanced between Victoria, Lita and Trish. "I want to ask all three of you, but that would mean Christian would have to have three best men."

Victoria nodded absently, "So why don't you just appoint someone else as your maid of honor.. And the three of us can be bridesmaids. I mean, Lil isn't here right now, but that doesn't mean she couldn't take that spot.."

"That's what I was thinking," Dawn replied with a grin. "I want the four of you to have important roles in this.. I mean, you four mean the world to me and.."

"We get it," Lita cut her off good naturedly. "And thanks Dawn, it means a lot to us."

Christian nodded, "That brings me to the groomsmen issue.. My best man will be my step-brother, Adam." Glancing between Chris, Randy, John and Jeff, he continued: "I would be honored if you four would--"

Trish raised an eyebrow, "But that leaves you one woman short where the bridesmaids are concerned.."

Dawn nodded, "Christian was going to ask Adam's cousin, Christy, to fill that spot. But, the main reason I wanted the three of you as bridesmaids, is because we don't know how often Lil is going to be around. I don't want to put all of the 'associated' pressures of maid of honor on her and--"

"We'll help out as much as we can.." Victoria broke in then, "No worries, okay? Between us and probably the best wedding planner that money can hire.. This'll be the wedding of the century."

"Was that all?" Lita spoke up almost hesitantly, "I hate to just run off like this, but.. I'm needed at the shelter for a meeting.." her nose wrinkled slightly, "I'd like to change before I got there so.."

Dawn rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Yeah that's all.. Call me later, alright?"

The redhead nodded, "I can do that.." hazel eyes flicked to Randy, "Your stuff.."

The dark haired male nodded, "Yeah.. Christian? Do you have room in your car to haul a bunch of luggage?"

Christian glanced between the two, "I should.. But why does she--"

"Long story," Lita interrupted first, car keys already in hand. "Which, I'd love to explain now, but I can't."

The blonde man nodded in response, the three making their exit shortly after. And while three had left, two returned.. The redhead departing the restaurant to return home to change. As she had stated earlier, she did have a meeting to get to at the shelter.. What this meeting was about, Lita wasn't exactly sure, but she reasoned that it had to do something with the fate of said shelter. Granted, she had learned last night that, they did have one more staff member. But, she also knew that having one more staff member would not guarantee the shelter staying open. There was a lot of work to be done on the shelter and whether that work would get done, depended on how the budget vote went. So far, it wasn't really looking good.. But that didn't mean that things couldn't change.


	6. Chapter 5

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language.. Will go up in later chapters.

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See previous chapters and.. Sorry for the length between updates.. I thought I should let you all know that, there is only one set pairing in this piece.. That is Dawn/Christian. Everyone else, hehehehehe.

**xoxox**

Fortunately for Lita, the traffic from San Francisco to Palo Alto wasn't as bad as usual.. Unfortunately for Lita, there was still a good amount of traffic. Perhaps that was just one of the downsides to living in the Bay Area, but it was a price she was willing to pay. It was where she had grown up after all.. Though technically, she grew up in the East Bay and was now living in the West Bay. Just like Victoria and Chris, the redheaded woman had grown up on the 'other side' of the Bay Bridge.. Or what they liked to call the better side. Naturally so; Trish, Dawn and Jeff were quick to argue that the West Bay was the better side of the Bay Area. On the East Bay side of the argument were Tommy and Rob, while Christian argued for the West Bay. But regardless, they had all come to know each other…mostly through the connection formed by Dawn, Trish, Victoria, Lillian and Lita. The five females had all met at girl scout camp the summer they were six years old. And over the years, their friendship had been tested, but in the end it always remained strong. Their friendship was the one stable thing in all of their lives.. And one that Lita was very grateful to have. For the most part, it had kept her sane and at times it had driven her insane. And now, here they were, ready to start the next phase of their lives….their crazy friendship as strong as ever.

Lita shrugged out of her jacket as she entered the one story building, "Ivory?" the redhead sighed, hoping she wasn't late. "I wonder where they are.. Meetings are usually right in the lobby."

"Li.." Ivory appeared in one of the doorways leading to the back area, "we're all meeting up in the common room." She gestured for the redhead to join her, "come on.. We just started, so you haven't missed that much." The brunette paused, pushing back a few strands of hair, "basically.. We need to go over the staff shortage, a possible change of location and what that ultimately means for us."

The redheaded woman nodded, "I kinda figured that would be covered today…usually you don't call an emergency meeting unless it's something big."

Ivory grimaced, "Believe me when I say.. This is big. I'll explain more there though, that way I'm not repeating myself. But, before we get to any of that, the new staff member needs to be introduced." The elder woman raised an eyebrow, "You up for doing an orientation and possible training session later this week?"

"Sure.. All I really have to do is pack and that's not happening for another week or so." Lita jammed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans, "Does this mean we're hiring again?"

Ivory rolled her eyes good naturedly, "We're always hiring, Li.. But yeah, I'm thinking we're heading that way. Hopefully, we can find some qualified people this time around."

"One can only hope," Lita said with a smile, the two women then heading into the common room for the meeting. Hazel eyes glanced from person to person, falling finally on the one face she didn't know. "Hi, I'm Lita Dumas."

The brunette glanced upwards, offering a polite if not shy smile. "I'm Molly Greenwald.."

Ivory cleared her throat, waiting until she had the attention of all present. "Okay, everyone, let's get this meeting started.. First, I want to apologize for taking away some of your weekend time and I appreciate it that you're all here." She clasped her hands together, taking a breath before she continued: "First, I'd like to introduce you all to our newest staff member- Molly Greenwald."

Molly stood then, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "As Ms. Moretti has mentioned, I'm Molly Greenwald. I moved to the area two weeks ago from Minneapolis, Minnesota.."

The brunette at the front of the room smiled warmly, "In case you haven't met everyone yet.." she gestured to the semi-circle of people, "from left to right.. That's Jackie Gayada, Terri Runnels, Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler." Pausing at the redheaded woman she added: "And the one you've just met, of course, is Lita Dumas." Another pause, "and I really do hate to rush you all here but.. Why don't we move on."

The gathered employees nodded, waiting until their supervisor had seated herself before the meeting commenced.

"Okay.. First order of business is the staffing issue. Obviously, we just got a new staff member and that certainly helps us tremendously. But.." Ivory let out a heavy sigh, "that doesn't help us as much as we need. We're looking to add one more full time staff member, a few part timers, one or two floaters and then we'll need some specialized staff."

Jackie raised her hand, "We could have another recruiting drive.. Or maybe some of us could make a visit to the colleges. I mean, I can't speak for everyone but that's how I found out about this job."

"What sort of positions for specialized staff?" Torrie brushed back a few strands of stray hair, "I thought all we needed were staff members, nursing and that was it."

"It ties into our review.." Ivory frowned slightly, "we're coming under review in a month.. And in order for us to qualify in the next category up, we need to add more staff and expand our services. Right now, we're only offering services to homeless and runaway children.. But, if we expand to serve families and troubled youth.."

Terri nodded slowly, "So we'd need counselors, social workers and stuff."

"And tutors for the kids, along with establishing some connections with local businesses for job placement.. Possibly some temporary housing.." Ivory trailed off with a nod. "I mean, if we can add some stuff to our existing program, it puts in the next category.. That would get us more funding and less risk of getting shut down."

Stacy blinked, "But how can we do that with the existing shelter? We don't really have the space as is and if we want to expand, I'd think we'd need a larger building."

"I was just about to cover that," Ivory sent a grin to the long legged blonde. "There's a piece of property a few miles south of here. That property was previously used for a similar shelter to the one we're hoping to become.. But, because of the lack of funding a few years ago, they had to shut down."

Lita raised an eyebrow at that, "That all sounds great, but how are we going to afford it? Our budget is tight as is and--"

"I've got a meeting set up with the county," Ivory interrupted with a reassuring smile. "If that all goes well, we have the funds to get the property, make any necessary renovations and get ourselves up and running." The brunette paused again, a thoughtful frown crossing her features. "The property itself has four buildings.. One for emergency housing, one for children, one for women and one central building. There's a courtyard, a great playground, a garden and a pool."

Terri regarded their supervisor skeptically, "So how much work are we looking at to make it useable? You said this place hasn't been used for a few years so I'd think there's a lot of work that needs to be done."

"There is," Ivory stated bluntly. "A lot of work will be needed to make it usable and livable but I don't think it's anything we can't handle. It would mean we'd have to shut down for a few weeks or however long it'd take but--"

"What would happen to the kids?" Torrie bit her lip in concern, "I mean for some of them. This is the only home they know."

Ivory pinched the bridge of her nose, "That's the problem.. I don't want to shut down because of the kids, but.. I don't know what else can be done."

Molly cleared her throat, the woman hesitant to voice her opinion. "In the shelter I was working at, we had a similar problem.. What we ended up doing was, keeping the shelter open while the other was being worked on." She shrugged slightly, "Then in the final stages, we let the kids come with us to have some input. It did stretch the staff out, but it was worth it, you know?"

"That could work.." Ivory sent a questioning look to her employees. "But it all depends on you."

Jackie was the first to nod her agreement, "I say we go for it.. If we can get through this, that means we can get through anything."

"You mean, when we get through it." Terri winked to the blonde woman, before sending a look to their supervisor. "Count me in too."

**xoxox**

With the added consent of Lita, Stacy and Torrie; all plans were set to go. The next order of business for the shelter staff, how to expand their current staff. As Ivory had previously stated to the redhead, they were always hiring but.. Finding the qualified people as posed a problem. Terri volunteered to lead up the recruiting drive at the local colleges, with Jackie and Stacy agreeing to help. Ivory and Torrie would handle the interview process while Lita would help with orientation and training.. And with all luck, they'd be able to expand to the necessary number of qualified staff to open the new shelter. Of course, there were still many doubts amongst the employees, but that didn't mean they couldn't pull it off. It took another half hour before Ivory declared the meeting over; Jackie, Stacy and Torrie staying on for the afternoon to late night shift. Both Lita and Terri would be returning later to take the late night to morning shift, the two women along with Ivory and Molly bidding the three staying a temporary farewell. Luckily, the traffic wasn't as bad going back to San Francisco, Lita more than thankful for that fact. Still, seeing her brother's car parked across the street from the apartment building was a surprise for the redheaded woman.. Lita wondering just what had happened now.

"Alright," Trish glanced to the front door, "we're just waiting for Li to get back.. And then we can go. Maybe we can figure out who's room will be who's today."

Tyson shrugged indifferently, "So long as we aren't there too long.. Dave and I have to be at the club by 9:00."

Victoria nodded, "I don't think it'll take too long, Ty.. Last I knew, Li is working overnight tonight, so she'll probably want to be back here well before 9:00."

Jeff peered through the living room window, "Well unless someone else drove her car.. She should be up here in a bit."

"Hey Trish," the dark haired woman sent a look to the blonde, "just how are we assigning rooms? I mean, I can't remember the exact layout of the house but.. There's going to be you, me and Li plus--"

"We'll figure it out, Vikki," Trish interrupted with a shrug. "If it all comes down to it, we'll just number the rooms, put the numbers in a hat and draw lots." The blonde woman opened her mouth to continue, when the front door swung open. "Hey Li!"

The redhead in question blinked as she shut the door behind her, "Hi Trish.. And everyone." She let her bag fall to the floor with a thud, "what's going on?"

Trish gestured to the those seated in the living room, "Well.. We thought we'd go take a look at the house.. Vikki is starting her internship next week, Chris starts on Wednesday so we're not sure when we'd have the time and--"

"Whatever," Lita interrupted, a yawn following after. "If someone could just grab me a bottled water, I'm ready to go."

Jeff held up the necessary bottled water, "Already done.. Trish and Vikki figured you might want one." He tossed it over to her, before glancing between the blonde and raven haired women. "So, who's driving?"

"Well, since me, Trish and Li are the only one's who know where the house is.." Victoria shrugged, "How about one of us goes with each of you?"

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't make much sense.."

Trish rolled her eyes, "It does when someone.." a pointed look to the redhead, "thinks she has the best route to get there."

The bald man chuckled, "I should've known.. Must be a family trait."

"If it means getting lost," Dave finally spoke up, "then it's one bad family trait."

Victoria shook her head, "Then I guess the shortcut Queen can go with her brother and whomever else is going with him.. Me and Trish can go with Jeff, Chris and--"

Tyson thumbed over to John, "He's coming with me and Dave actually, we were going to tell him more about the job."

"Then we're set, we're all here.." Chris gestured to the door, "so let's go."

In turn, they all filed out of the apartment, splitting up when they reached the sidewalk.

Tyson waited until he had the directions, a questioning look sent to his sister. "So tell me something, sis.. How did three college students with loans, manage to get a six bedroom house?"

"Dawn," the redheaded woman replied simply. "Her mom is our real estate agent.. Thanks to our dear friend, we got a pretty good sale. Plus, our loans aren't that bad.. I had a partial scholarship, plus work study. Trish had a partial scholarship and grants and Vikki got a full scholarship. And we've got personal savings."

Dave raised an eyebrow at that, turning in the passengers seat to glance back at the redhead. "So where is this piece of property?"

"Menlo Park, so it's not that far, ya know?" Lita shrugged, "it might mean leaving a little early in the morning for anyone who works the 9 to 5 deal, but it's not too far."

Beside her, John raised an eyebrow. "So what's all in this house? I'm no real estate agent, but it sounds expensive.. An' when it sounds expensive, there's got to be a reason why."

"Well, I'm not sure how much Trish or Vikki have told you but.." the redhead paused for thought, trying to remember the exact specifications. "It's a two story, finished basement, storage space in the attic, four car garage plus a car port.. Six bedrooms in the main house, another two bedrooms over the garage, one bathroom downstairs and two bathrooms up.. Backyard has an in ground pool, barbeque area and a patio." She paused again, frowning in thought. "Family room, dining room, kitchen with a breakfast area, home theatre, recreation room, central air conditioning and hardwood floors… I'm probably forgetting something.."

The Boston native let out a low whistle, "Now that sounds real expensive.." he regarded her suspiciously, "so how much of a discount did y'all get from my aunt?"

"Enough," Lita replied vaguely, "and you'll see the house in a bit.. We're almost there."

"A gated community," Tyson almost looked impressed. "This should be interesting." He waited a beat, glancing around as they finally neared the house. "Where's everyone else?"

"Still on their way probably," his sister shrugged, "I told you I knew the best shortcut, didn't I?" Lita pointed to the curb, "just park here.. We have to wait for them anyways, because Trish has the key."

Dave gave the house the once over as they convened on the sidewalk, "Well it at least looks big enough for everyone."

Lita nodded, "After living in that cramped apartment for the past four years.. Me, Trish and Vikki wanted a big place. Trish saw the ad for the house and then we talked to Dawn."

Tyson stretched his arms overhead, "Since we're waiting.." his attention turned to John then, "why don't I give ya a few details about the job.. Aside from Dave and myself, there are three other guys who work there. Chris is the doorman, while me, Dave, Hunter and Luther are floor man.. Ya with me?"

The dark haired man nodded, "Ya, I'm with ya so far.."

"Hunter also works security at the same place I'm at," the bald man crossed his arms over his chest. "He might give ya some hell the first two or three days, but once you get to know him.. He's a pretty cool guy. I can tell ya that if ya didn't know me and Dave, you'd probably take over as doorman.. But, we might be able to work something out."

Dave cleared his throat, "Tyson should also mention that we work the upstairs.. Downstairs is where the live music is at, upstairs is the dance club.. But, you could be assigned to either area depending on business."

"What he said," Tyson thumbed to Dave, his attention still on John. "The dance club is open Friday through Sunday from 10 to 3.. Downstairs is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 to 1.. Most of the guys on staff also work full time."

"Which Ty can tell you about later," Lita gestured to the car parking nearby, "they're here, which means we can finally see the house."

Jeff rolled his eyes as he made his way over to the four, "Would you believe that Trish forgot how to get here?"

Lita nodded solemnly, "Yup.. Which is why I told you all to follow my directions.. But do you listen? Nooo."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever.. I got us here, didn't I? That's what matters."

"Sure you got us here," Chris seemingly agreed as he joined the group on the sidewalk. "You also got us lost."

In a mature gesture, the blonde woman stuck out her tongue. "If you had just taken the directions I gave you the first time around, we wouldn't have gotten lost."

"She's got ya there Chris," Victoria chimed in as she made her way over. "But, like Trish said.. We're here and that's what matters."

Trish held up the house key, leading the way to the front door. "It's a good thing it's still light out.. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to get a good look inside." She paused to unlock the door, swinging it open with a flourish. "If Li hasn't told you.." she glanced back to Dave, Tyson and John, "there are two bedrooms downstairs with one bathroom.. Four bedrooms upstairs with two bathrooms and two bedrooms over the garage with one bathroom."

"And a finished basement," Jeff added as they all filed inside, "which is gonna be used for practice space for the band.. And for my art studio."

Victoria turned in her spot, glancing between everyone. "Does anyone have a preference for their room? They're mostly the same size, it's just a matter of where you are."

Tyson shrugged, "I can't say I have a preference so long as I have a spot to sleep."

"I'd rather be downstairs," Lita smiled wryly, "after the last earthquake.. I'm not crazy about the idea of being on the second floor."

"Earthquake?" John echoed questioningly, "how bad was this earthquake?"

"They usually aren't that bad," Chris shrugged it off easily, "but then again.. We're more used to it than you are so.."

The dark haired male nodded, "For what it's worth then.. I'll take downstairs."

Trish nodded in turn, "So that's two bedrooms spoken for.. Anyone else? Because here's what I'm thinking.. Me, Vikki, Jeff and Chris can take the four bedrooms upstairs while Tyson and Dave take the two bedrooms over the garage." Smiling slightly to Dave and Tyson, she added: "I think it might be better for you two that way."

Dave shrugged, "That works for me.. Can we see the house though?"

"Right.." the blonde woman made an open gesture with her arms, "obviously we're standing in the living room now.. The dining room is to the left, with the kitchen next to it.. Those double doors lead to the patio and the backyard." She then gestured to one hallway, "The two bedrooms and the bathroom are down that way.. And that door next to the stairs leads to the basement."

Victoria made a gesture to the second hallway, "And if you go that way.. There's a home theatre, the recreational room and a family room. That's basically it to the house."

Lita sent a glance to the hallway leading towards her bedroom. "Well, if you all don't mind, I think I'm going to check out my room."

At that, they all split up again.. Victoria, Trish, Jeff and Chris heading upstairs to check out their rooms, while Tyson and Dave opted to explore the house a bit more. The redhead was soon joined by John, the two soon discovering that their respective rooms were separated by the bathroom. All that really meant was that they would be sharing the aforementioned bathroom.. Not that it bothered either one of them since they had both grown up sharing a bathroom with siblings. Once that was out of the way, they also opted to explore the house a bit more.. Eventually finding Tyson and Dave in the home theatre. The eventual group of housemates all ended up wandering outside, taking in the backyard and in ground pool before they decided to leave. Now, it was just a matter of figuring out when they would all be moving in and what they would be bringing with them. Not that they had to figure it out right then and there.. And even if they were going to, the need for dinner took priority. Subsequently, they found themselves piling back into the respective cars to head back to San Francisco.


	7. Chapter 6

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language.. Will go up in later chapters.

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See previous chapters for any applicable notes

**xoxox**

Thanks to her overnight shift at work, Lita's day officially started sometime in the afternoon. And once she had finished showering…both Trish and Victoria wanted to get going. The blonde woman only had one class that week.. And that was an orientation for all first year medical students. Victoria's internship was scheduled to start on Wednesday while Chris would be starting his internship on Thursday…not that his internship factored into their plans for the day.. But it was still something worth noting. The three women also knew that Jeff would be job hunting that week.. The green eyed man hopeful that something would be available for someone who held a bachelors degree in fine arts. Whatever the case with Jeff, their plans for that day didn't involve him either.. Rather, their plans involved getting a list together of who would be bringing what to the house and what they would need to buy. Aside from bedroom furniture, the three women would be able to contribute some kitchen essentials, cleaning supplies and perhaps the beat up couch in the living room. Lita knew that her brother had all new furniture in his apartment, including a big screen television. But whether that television would go in his room or in the living room…the redhead wasn't exactly sure. Dawn had already agreed to give them some of her old furniture…which was really brand new furniture…since she was getting ready to buy new furniture. That at least took care of some problems, but the rest of the house…well they still weren't sure.

Trish bit her lower lip in thought, "Well.. The three of us have cars, Tyson, Jeff and Chris have cars.. I'm guessing Dave would too.. That means we're going to be using all four spots in the garage plus the carport."

Victoria raised an eyebrow in question, "So what does that have to do with furniture? I thought we were going to go look for stuff today."

"It doesn't have anything to do with furniture," the blonde woman stated with a shrug. "I'm just trying to figure out if we'll have more storage space.. And that's only if we'll need it."

Lita frowned, "I think my mom left me and Ty some stuff in storage.. And if we end up using whatever it is she left…we'll have that storage space." Rolling her eyes she added: "Tyson claims to remember some living room furniture, a dining room set and two bedroom sets."

Trish sent her a look, "Can we see what's what in this storage locker? Who knows.. We might find something that all of us can use."

"Sure, he's got the day off from work today so.." the redhead replied easily, "we just have to head over to Ty's because he has the keys to the storage lockers. I'm pretty sure he has some extra boxes too, so we can pick those up for whenever we decide to start packing."

Victoria nodded, keys already in hand. "What's your schedule like this week? If we can start packing during the week.. That'll free up some weekend time to go shopping."

"Overnights until Wednesday with Thursday and Friday off," Lita replied without missing a beat. "And of course, weekends on call… but I might have to go in on Thursday or Friday to do an orientation."

Trish blinked, "Are there any chances of you getting a regular schedule? Like a 9 to 5 or something?"

Lita shook her head, waiting until they were in the hallway before she answered. "Everyone at the shelter works one of the following schedules.. You're either a 3 to 11, 11 to 7 or 7 to 3.. I could do a twelve hour instead or do a back to back like last month."

"Harsh," the blonde woman said first. "But that's how it's going to be for me once I get a job.." She quirked an eyebrow, "how are you guys managing with such few staff?"

"Just barely," Lita admitted with a frown, "but we're going to be hiring again so.. Hopefully it won't be too bad.. Plus we're expanding the services offered."

Victoria blinked as they gathered on the sidewalk, "I remember you saying something about a promotion.. Is that still going to happen and will that mean more work for you or what?"

Lita shook her head, "I won't get the promotion unless I have my masters degree.. But it would mean more work, because I'd have more paperwork to do at the shelter.. Or I could just have more responsibilities." She waited for Victoria to unlock the car, sliding inside as soon as the door was opened. "I'd love to get my masters but.. I'm just not sure if I'll have the time.. And even if I did have the time, I'm not sure if I could handle the workload."

"Well," Trish began thoughtfully as she slipped into the passengers seat, "if part of your coursework is field work.. You've already got that part covered because of your job.. You might want to talk to the advisors for the program and see if you can't get credit or something for your job experience."

"That's what Ivory said.. And according to her, I'd technically have all of my fieldwork requirements out of the way." The redhead shrugged, a hand threading through her hair. "I do know that I'd have to wait until the Fall semester to start any coursework so.."

Trish frowned, "It's too bad you can't appeal for a late application to this semester.. At least that way you wouldn't have to wait another year."

Lita shrugged, "I know Ivory already has some training classes scheduled for all of us.. Plus I have my re-certification for C.P.R and First Aid coming up…and even without that, I'd still be really busy."

"Speaking of that," Victoria sent her a look via the rear view mirror, "are you taking the kids to the final pre-game?"

The redhead grinned, "That's all Devon and Ryan have been talking about for the past two weeks.. Plus the baseball games and they wanted to make sure that we're going to a few basketball games…not to mention the college games."

"No hockey this year?" Trish queried as Victoria pulled out of the parking spot, "or do they think San Jose is too far to drive to?"

Lita shrugged, "I'm not sure.. I have to talk to Ivory about the Fall and Winter activity schedule…see what I'm handling this time around. I'm pretty sure I will be taking the kids to the sports games and all that but I'm not sure what else."

Trish grimaced, "I don't know how you can handle five rambunctious boys.. I know you said that McKenzie goes too but .. Five of them, by yourself?"

"It's not that bad," Lita rolled her shoulders, sitting back in her seat. "Though I do prefer just taking three or four at a time.." She winced suddenly, "the worst is when we take all of them to see Santa.. Or just when we have all of the kids with us. But most of my outings are either with the group of boys and McKenzie or with McKenzie, Matthew and Devon."

**xoxox**

The three fell silent soon afterwards… each woman pre-occupied with their own thoughts. For Trish, it was a matter of if she could handle the upcoming academic year…what with it being her first year as a pre-med student. And while the pretty blonde was confident in her abilities.. It was the amount of coursework that was intimidating her. But, she had gotten into a very competitive program.. Trish figuring that had to count for something. Victoria, meanwhile, was also contemplating the year ahead.. It would be her first internship and from what little she knew about the office they were a private practice specializing in civil rights issues. She also knew that the office was located in Richmond…but beyond that, she knew nothing. Lita was also thinking about the rest of the year.. Though for different reasons than her two room-mates. For one, it was mid-August.. That meant roughly four and a half months before the new year…and the new year meant Dawn and Christian's wedding in June. In between that, the shelter would be moving and expanding the services offered.. And of course, they would be moving into a house with three people they knew very well, one they didn't know much about and another person that they really didn't know at all. Aside from the moving, the redhead was also wondering how the activity schedule would shape up for the shelter. She knew that Devon wanted to have as many outings and day trips as humanly possible.. Lita promising him that she would do her best to accommodate his wishes. But, the redhead wouldn't have much longer to think on things… seeing as how Victoria had just pulled up to the apartment complex where her brother lived.

"I'll be back," Lita stated as she unbuckled her seatbelt, "this shouldn't take long .. Unless of course Ty wants to come along with us."

Trish nodded, "We'll just wait in here. I mean, there's really no point in all of us going up there just to get a set of keys, right?"

"Right," the redhead agreed with a nod. "Unless of course someone wants to come with me.."

Victoria stuck out her tongue, "I'll pass thanks.. Now why don't you just go get the keys."

Lita rolled her eyes good naturedly, shutting the door to make her way to the gates of the complex. It took her a moment to find her brother's apartment number on the panel.. The redhead pressing a few buttons on the intercom system to let Tyson know she was here.

"Why do you need the keys?" The bald man asked as he let his sister inside. "And why don't you have a copy?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Because.. Someone told mom that as the older and therefore more 'responsible' one.. He should have the keys." Lita waited a beat: "And I need them because Trish and Vikki want to see what's in the storage lockers."

"Oh yeah.." he smirked, crossing the length of the living room to reach the end table. "I almost forgot about that."

"Whatever," she said with a roll of her eyes, "can you just hurry it up? Trish and Vikki are waiting in the car."

In turn, Tyson took his time to find the keys.. Even though he knew exactly where they were…it was fun pissing her off. "So what are you three up to anyway?"

"Aside from checking the storage lockers.." Lita shrugged, jamming her hands in the back pockets of her jean shorts. "We're trying to figure out who will be bringing what to the house… that way we can start a list of what we need to buy."

"Right," he said while tossing the keys to her. "Mom's got some of Billy's stuff in there too.. But I think it's marked."

She pocketed the keys, "I'll keep that in mind then.. And I'd say I'd see you later, but the way our schedules cross.. I doubt it's possible."

He smirked, "And thank goodness for that.. I don't know if I can put up with you."

Lita stuck out her tongue in response, the redhead waving over her shoulder as she exited the apartment.

"Hey Li.." Victoria queried when the redhead was back in the car, "where are these storage lockers?"

"Alameda," the redhead buckled her seatbelt, "and since it's mid-afternoon.. We probably won't get caught in traffic going there.. But we might get caught in rush hour traffic coming back."

The dark haired woman groaned, quipping sarcastically: "Which is the absolute best time to get stuck in traffic.. Can we make this trip quick then?"

"Whatever," Lita replied with a shrug, "I'm not sure how much stuff is in these storage lockers though.. I just know that some of it's stuff that my grandma left in her will to me and Ty. And some other stuff that mom bought in case we ever got a place of our own."

"I wonder if Dawn's heard from Lil yet.." Trish spoke up suddenly, "or Chris and Jeff for that matter."

Victoria frowned in thought, "Well her dad is pretty sick.. And I don't think Lil or her mom want to put him a nursing home…especially since Lil's a registered nurse."

"I know," Trish said casually, "I'm just worried.. She usually checks in with at least one of us…just to let us all know what's going on."

"Then we'll call her when we get home," Lita reasoned from the backseat, "maybe see if she can join us for lunch or something."

"Speaking of joining people," Trish sent a look back, "with my orientation this week plus Vikki's starting her internship--"

"Who am I meeting and why?" Lita interrupted, curiosity shining in her hazel eyes, "because like I've already told you.. I might have to do an orientation on Thursday or Friday."

Trish rolled her eyes, "I know Li.. It would be for a couple hours at most anyway.. We just need you to meet up with Chris, Jeff, Dave, John and your brother so you can get a list together of what they'll be bringing to the house." She made a gesture with her hand, "that way we have a final idea of what we need to get."

"Right," the redhead sighed softly, "I'll just check my schedule… I can't make any guarantees but I'll see what I can do."

"That's all we're asking," Victoria re-assured the redhead. "It's just…between the three of us…you're probably the only one who'll be able to meet with them before the weekend."

"I know," Lita shrugged.. A small smirk appearing soon after, "and if I can't find the free time.. I'll just go bug Ty and Dave at work."

Trish shook her head, "Don't you remember what happened last time you did that? I seem to recall you saying something about how you ended playing waitress….and about how your brother, Dave and Chris had break up a bar fight that you started."

Lita rolled her eyes, "I didn't start a bar fight… it might have started because of me, but I didn't start it."

Trish rolled her eyes right back, "Same difference Li.. You still had something to do with it.. You're really luck you didn't get hurt."

"You know Ty wouldn't let anything happen to me.." Lita shook her head, "or Chris for that matter."

Victoria snickered, "That's because he has a crush on you." She grinned when Lita snorted in disbelief, "Think what you want, Li, but it's true.. Mr. Masters has a crush."

Lita shook her head, "Wrong.. He has a crush on Lillian.. He's just too shy to say anything."

"Right.." Trish glanced back at the redhead, "and how do you know that he isn't just saying things, huh? Chris is far from shy." She raised an eyebrow when Lita glared, "face it honey.. He likes you."

"So?" Lita waved it off, "that doesn't really mean anything, does it? And that's if it is true.. Which it isn't." Shaking her head she added: "And besides.. I don't have the time to date right now and both of you know it."

Trish held up her hands in defense, "Calm down… we were just joking.. No one said you had to date him. We were just pointing out the fact that he does like you." The pretty blonde shrugged, "he is cute.."

"Then why don't you date him," Lita suggested with a smirk, "or do you not have the time, hmm?" Her smirk broadened when Trish blushed, "all you have to do is talk to him, Trish.. He's a really nice guy."

The blonde woman shrugged, "I'll think about it…I'm not saying I will and I'm not saying I won't.. just that I have to think about it first."

**xoxox**

The occupants of the car fell silent once more.. The three women eventually finding themselves in Alameda. Now, it was just a matter of finding the storage lockers that Lita's mom rented to see exactly what was in them. From a quick glance to the key ring that Tyson had given her, the redhead gathered that there were three storage lockers in her mother's name.. The exact size, however, she wasn't sure…since this storage center had large lockers and small lockers. But, after she had consulted with the attendant at the desk.. The three women found themselves staring down three large lockers. It was then they realized that the lockers before them were about the same size as the lockers they were renting in South San Francisco.. And while it hadn't been too long since they had rented those lockers.. It had been long enough for them to forget most of the contents there. They tried the middle locker first, Lita stepping in to examine a few of the labels in plain view.. And as she stepped back, she informed Trish and Victoria that the contents of this locker belonged to Billy. Going from that bit of information, the three figured that the outer two lockers were designated to Tyson and Lita.. The redhead handing off one key to Victoria while she and Trish explored the locker to the left.

"Alright.." Lita began as they opened the door, "there should be a light switch around somewhere.."

"Hey Li.." Victoria beckoned from the locker she was standing in, "all of this is for Tyson.. And I really don't feel comfortable browsing through someone else's stuff so.. I think I'll just--"

"We found Li's stuff," Trish interrupted quickly, "so why don't you just head over here and give us a hand.."

Victoria nodded, stepping back to slide the door down. And after she had locked it, she joined Lita and Trish in the third storage locker.

"Hey.." Trish glanced up from a table, "I remember this table.. It was in your grandmother's living room.." Her fingertips touched the surface, "we made a fort underneath this the first time we slept over."

The redhead nodded, "Like I said… most of the stuff in the lockers is from grandma's old house.. Mom didn't want to sell any of it, so she kept for me, Ty and Billy."

Victoria eyed up a set of curio cabinets, "Well.. If you can't use this somewhere else in the house.. You or Tyson might be able to use some of it in your rooms."

"Huh.." Lita paused in front of a framed portrait, "she kept this.."

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Kept what, Li?"

"This.." she held up the large portrait for her friend, "it was the last family portrait we had done.." hazel eyes darkened. "Right before me and Ty's seventh birthday.. And right before he decided that he didn't want to be a father anymore."

The blonde woman placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We don't have to take everything.."

Lita nodded, her voice distant when she replied. "It's the first and only time I remember Ty crying.." she smiled wryly, "Tyson claims he doesn't know how to cry now.."

Victoria and Trish exchanged a helpless look.. Neither woman sure of what to say or what they could say.

The redhead set down the portrait, turning it so she didn't have to see the smiling faces. "Anyway.. Why don't we see what else is in here.. Then we'll check Ty's locker." She glanced to Victoria, "you might have a problem looking through his stuff.. But I don't.. I grew up doing that."

The dark haired woman nodded, "I see the rest of the dining room set over here.. And I think there's an entertainment center.. Bedroom furniture.. And some really ancient looking appliances."

Lita rolled her eyes in spite of it all, "Well it's not like we'll need any of them.. The house has a microwave, oven, dishwasher and a refrigerator already."

"Plus the breakfast nook," Trish reminded them both as they ventured further into the storage locker. "Though I do wonder.. We have a home theatre in there…what are we going to do with that one spare room?"

Victoria smirked, "I overheard Tyson and Dave saying it would be perfect for a pool table or something.. And I think Chris and Jeff said it would be perfect for an air hockey table."

Lita snorted, "That's funny… John was saying it would be perfect for a foosball table.. But it's not like we won't have just one spare room.. Sure, there's that one room and then the family room. I think Dawn's mom told us that the previous owners used that for a playroom and since none of us have kids…"

Trish shook her head, "We are not turning one of the rooms into an arcade. I know for a fact that both Chris and Jeff want to bring their stupid video game systems with them."

"I know Ty is bringing his…" Lita sighed, "but we don't know what the rooms will be used for until we all talk about it.. I say we have final say, since it is technically our house."

Victoria nodded, "I agree.. But, I wouldn't mind having an air hockey table or even a pool table in the house.." She sent a curious look to the redhead, "I just wonder how all of us are going to manage with sharing bathrooms."

Lita shrugged, "I grew up sharing a bathroom with my brothers.. I doubt this will be any different."

Trish raised an eyebrow at that, "Are you already forgetting what happened when Jeff accidentally walked in on you? It was the most recent ski trip to Lake Tahoe.. You threatened to kick his ass all the way back to San Francisco."

"What's the point blondie.."

Trish rolled her eyes, "What if something like that happens?"

The redhead shrugged, "Then we look for a new house mate…because if it happens, I'll kill him… or I'll scream bloody murder and have Tyson kill him."

Victoria smirked, "And you know.. That's probably one reason why Chris hasn't asked you out.. One night, I swear to you both, I overheard Tyson giving him the 'fear of God' speech." And when Lita shot her a questioning look, the dark haired woman elaborated: "Ya know.. The 'you hurt my sister and I'll kill you' speech that he gave just about every guy you dated in high school?"

Lita huffed, "Vikki.. For the last time.. .he doesn't like me. We're friends.. Ya know…a completely platonic relationship between two people?" She smirked suddenly, "But.. In the event that he does ask me out…I'll go on one date with him.." An eyebrow raised in challenge, "provided that it's a double date with you and Ty."

"Fine," Victoria agreed easily, "you're on.." she extended a hand, the two shaking on the terms before the dark haired woman crossed her arms. "And you'll soon find out that you're wrong, Li.."

"Whatever," the redhead muttered, "let's just finish up here so we can go home.. I'm getting hungry."

To that, Trish and Victoria nodded their agreement… the three heading further back into the locker to inspect the remaining contents. They figured they'd leave the other locker for another day.. Or that Lita could just ask Tyson to take a look for himself. But, their search of the locker had left them with good results.. The three realizing that they probably wouldn't need to buy too much furniture…if they had to at all. Between the contents of the storage locker, Dawn's generous donations and whatever else everyone was bringing.. They were pretty much set. That was one relief for the three.. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't need other stuff for the house.. Neither Trish, Lita or Victoria were very confident in one of the guys having a working vacuum cleaner…or a washer and dryer for that matter. But, where it concerned furnishings, they were set…and that was good enough for now.


	8. Chapter 7

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language.. Will go up in later chapters.

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See previous chapters for any applicable notes…and yes, I know, there's not much romance in this yet, but just give me a little bit of time…I'll have it in here soon enough. And to clarify.. Chris Masters is the one who works with Tyson, Dave and Hunter (both as security.. And at the club). Chris Jericho is the room-mate. And yes, the chapter is shorter than others but I ran out of what else to write, lol. Sorry..

**xoxox**

Tuesday afternoon found Lita, Victoria and Trish meeting up with Lillian for a late lunch. Afterwards, the four planned on catching a movie or perhaps doing some shopping before Lita's overnight shift at the shelter.. Of course, that would all depend on how much time they had, which depended on how long it would take them to eat. And in order for that to happen, they had to find a place to eat…which given their eclectic tastes…that task could take awhile. It had been by sheer luck -- or maybe fate was just being cruel to the redhead -- that the four women ran into Tyson, Dave, Hunter and Chris. Tyson informed his sister, that they had passed by Dawn, Christian, Adam, Randy and John at one of the outdoor café's up the street.. The redhead deciding that they wouldn't go there… because that would just make for one very awkward lunch. It wasn't until she saw the sly smile on Trish's face that she realized this situation could also make for an interesting lunch.. But that all depended on if Trish asked and if Tyson, Dave, Hunter and Chris said yes. Before Lita could do a thing about it, Victoria and Trish asked if the guys would like to join them for lunch… sure enough, that question was answered with a round of 'yes' from the guys.. The newly expanded lunch group soon finding themselves waiting in line at Pompeii's Grotto in Fisherman's Wharf. Lita, as calmly as she could, informed both Trish and Victoria that they were going to die…a nice, slow, tortured painful death.

"It's a good thing we ran into you four," Hunter began as they waited. "Steph wanted to invite you all along for the next company trip."

Trish raised an eyebrow in question, "But we don't even work at the nightclub.. Or at the restaurant for that matter."

Hunter shrugged, "No.. but she's a family member of one of the employees," he nodded to Lita, "and the rest of you are like family.. We're taking a weekend trip to Santa Cruz."

Lillian offered a tired smile, "It all depends on how my dad's doing.. But, I'll think about it."

"As long as I don't have any homework or papers to write," Trish grinned, "then you can definitely count me in."

Victoria nodded, "I should be able to make it.. So if you can just let me know about any details?"

"No problem," the blonde man agreed easily, his attention falling shortly on Lita. "Well? Whadya say? In or out?"

Lita shrugged, "It'll depend on my schedule. Works been pretty busy as of late and I'm not sure when I'll have a free weekend. But, once I know more.. I'll have Ty pass on the news."

Hunter nodded his agreement, hazel gaze turning back to Lillian. "Steph wanted to ask, by the way, how is your dad doing? She figured the band hasn't been booked for awhile because well.."

"He's doing better," Lillian stated honestly, "still bedridden, but he's doing better then he was last month."

Victoria sent her a concerned look, "And how are you and your mom holding up?"

Lillian grimaced, "I think it's safe to say that I'm holding up better then mom."

Trish squeezed her friend's hand, "When you have the chance…you'll have to stop by the house again. We need to have a pool party or something there anyway.."

Chris sent the blonde woman a questioning look. "You got the house in Menlo Park, right?"

Trish blinked, "Yes that's right.. But how did you--"

Chris thumbed to the redhead, "It came up a couple weeks ago."

This time, Lita blinked. "More like two months ago.. I haven't been back to the club since then."

"And where was I?" Tyson raised an eyebrow at his sister, the group finally being shown to a table. "You never visit the club unless you're looking for me."

Lita rolled her eyes, "You were there.. I was talking to Chris outside because I had to wait for you."

Victoria grinned, "Then you'll have to come to our pool party.. This place has an amazing pool in the backyard. Plus an outdoor barbeque." Quickly she added: "And that's extended to you and Stephanie.."

Hunter nodded, "I'll bring it up with Steph.. I'm sure she'd love to see the house."

The redhead shot her friend a withering glare, a much nicer look sent to Lillian. "We've missed you.." She smiled gently, "a lot… and I know this is probably asking for too much right now, but can you try and check in with one of us once a week?"

"I'll try my best Li," Lillian offered her best smile, the two women taking seats beside the other. "I'm sorry for worrying all of you, it's just.. we don't want Dad going into a nursing home and--"

"There's no need to explain," Trish interrupted with a grin. "We understand, okay? We're just worried…like usual."

"Have you scheduled another band practice?"

Lita shook her head, "We were waiting to hear from you actually.."

"A lot of people have been asking about when you all are playing again." Chris glanced between the two across from him. "I must've heard it from at least twenty people the other night."

Lillian pushed back a few strands of loose hair, "Well if it all comes down to it.. I'm sure Li here could take over as lead vocalist."

The redhead snorted, "I don't think so.. I can't do that because then we'd have to find a new bassist."

Trish sent her a questioning look, "Did you find out about the activity schedule for Fall and Winter?"

"No," Lita glanced over the menu as she replied. "The only thing I know right now, is that.. I don't have to be in on Thursday or Friday at all. Orientations have been put on hold until we've hired a few more people."

Tyson flicked a glance in her direction, "Mom called me last night…wanted to know if either one of us wants the piano. Or more specifically, if you want the piano."

His sister took her time to place her order, an apologetic glint in her eyes as she finally replied to Tyson. "It really wouldn't matter either way, right? Whether you take or if I take it, it'll be going to the same place."

Her brother nodded, "That's what I told mom.. But you know how she is…" he shrugged it off, watching her carefully before he continued. "She also wanted to let you know that dad wants us to visit."

Lita clenched her jaw, some of the color draining from her face. "That's nice…I'll have to check my schedule though because I'm really busy." She offered Tyson a short lived smile, "but moving on…are you free later this week?"

"No, I'm not.. But if you want to stop by work or something, that'll be fine." He sent a cautious glance to Hunter. "Right?"

The blonde man nodded easily, "Sure, that's fine by me.. So long as you don't start any trouble, Li.."

"It wasn't entirely my fault," she protested weakly. "And besides, Chris intervened before it could get ugly so.. No big deal."

**xoxox**

Throughout the remainder of lunch, Lillian caught up with Trish, Victoria and Lita while Tyson, Dave, Hunter and Chris discussed work. The impending move was also brought up, Chris offering his help if anyone needed it. Both Trish and Victoria jumped on the offer, the two receiving a withering glare from Lita for their efforts. And while Lita was trying to enjoy herself, the brief mention of her father was disturbing her. Granted, she wouldn't admit that aloud, but her brother could plainly see it was bothering her. Their father hadn't made much of an effort to contact them until two years ago. He had missed their high school graduation and Lita's graduation from U.C Berkeley, along with all of the sports games and concerts in between. In all honesty, Tyson wasn't sure how much Lita remembered about the times their father was around.. Or if she had forced herself to forget. He did know that she hated him and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him…his twin sister readily calling their step-father her real father over her birth father. He also knew that now was not a good time to discuss their visiting their birth father or to even mention the prospect. So instead, he gave her an update on Billy and informed his sister that their mom had some more furniture in storage. All in all, things were going relatively well until lunch ended.. The four women getting ready to part ways with Hunter, Dave, Tyson and Chris.

"Hey Lillian.." Dave spoke softly to the blonde woman in question, "I'm guessing you really don't have much free time and all…but I was wondering if you'd like to see a movie or something sometime.."

She smiled beautifully, "I'd like that.. It just might be awhile until I'm free again though.."

Dave grinned, "I understand.." he took a moment to scribble his cell phone number on the back of the receipt. "If you want to talk or something, give me a call."

"I'll do that," she smiled again, tucking the slip of paper carefully in her purse. "I'd give you my cell phone number, but.. I just ran out of minutes on it."

Lita swept her hair from her face, "So, I'll stop by tomorrow night probably to bug ya.." she informed her brother as they exited the restaurant. "Has Dawn's cousin started yet?"

Tyson frowned thoughtfully, "I think he starts orientation tomorrow night.. I'll have to double check that though." His eyes glinted suspiciously, "why do you need to know?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's nothing bad, you worry wart.. I just need to find out what he's bringing with him as far as furniture and stuff like that goes."

Tyson visibly relaxed, opening his mouth to say more before he was interrupted.

"Uhh.." Chris cleared his throat, glancing uneasily between the two siblings. "Lita… can I talk to you?"

Confused, she nodded.. Ignoring the smug looks from Victoria and Trish…and the suspicious look from her brother. Lita waited until they were out of hearing distance, an eyebrow raising slightly at the man before her. "So.. What's up?"

"Well, it's just.. If you're free tomorrow before you visit your brother I was just wondering if you wanted to go to dinner?"

She bit her lower lip to contain her laughter, not used to seeing someone so confident reduced to near stuttering. The redhead debated for a moment, before a thought came to mind.. And with a glance back to her brother, she nodded to Chris. "I'm free tomorrow night, just let me know what time and where to meet you."

"I get off work at 4:30 tomorrow, so how about 6:00? And I was thinking we could just head over to Pier 39."

"Sure that works for me.. I'll meet you by the carousel at 6:00." Lita offered a smile, turning then to catch up with Trish and Victoria.

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Well?"

Lita shrugged, "Well nothing.. We're meeting tomorrow at Pier 39 for dinner."

"Bullshit, nothing.." Trish sent her a sly look, "that sounds like a date to me."

"Call it what you will," the redhead replied breezily. "But if this is a date, I guess that means Victoria's coming with me." She smirked at the raven haired woman, "remember? We have a deal." Shrugging she added: "And besides, I'm sure Ty would jump at the opportunity to chaperone."

"I'm sure," Victoria muttered dryly. "But it appears that you aren't the only one with date on the horizon.."

Lillian nearly blushed, "All he did was ask me if I wanted to see a movie."

"Uh huh," Trish nodded slowly, the four taking their time to walk back to the parking garage. "It's a date, face it Lil.. And I'm happy for you, because you need to get out more. I know you really can't, but you should take every opportunity to do so."

"Which is why she's with us today," Lita pointed out before Trish could go on. "Sure, we don't hang out as much as we used to.. But honestly, Trish? We'll never hang out with each other as much as we did in high school. With a few exceptions, since a few of us will be house-mates but--"

Trish held up a hand in defense, "I get the point.." Glancing curiously to Lillian she continued: "Do you need to go back right away or what?"

Lillian nodded, "I probably should.. I just told mom I was meeting some friends for lunch.. She's got another nurse in there caring for dad while I'm out, but…I'd prefer if it was me."

Victoria nodded easily, "Don't forget to call us once in awhile, okay? We miss you."

Lillian smiled, hugging each woman in turn before she got into her car. Lita, Trish and Victoria soon found themselves re-situated in Lita's car, the redhead informing them she had to do some shopping.

"So where are we going and why?"

The redheaded woman shrugged, "I have to pick up some stuff for the shelter…we're running low on snacks and art supplies. It really doesn't matter where we go, so long as I get this stuff. And drop it off before 3:00."

Trish blinked, "Then you might as well go shopping in Palo Alto.. It's already 1:45 and considering how long it takes you to pick out stuff for the shelter.."

"And you two wouldn't mind?" Lita glanced between the blonde in the passengers seat and Victoria in the back seat. "I can always drop you two off at the apartment first and then head over there."

Victoria shrugged, "Either or, Li.. It doesn't really matter. I don't have anywhere that I need to be."

Trish opened her mouth to reply when, Lita's cell phone started to ring; the pretty blonde grabbed the object checking the display before she informed the redhead. "It's Ivory Moretti."

Lita held the object to her ear, "'Ello.." Her forehead furrowed as Ivory launched into the reason why she was calling, the redhead nodding before she spoke again. "I got it.. I'll be there for the 3 to 11.." Handing the phone back to Trish, the redhead sighed. "I'm doubling on shifts tonight, so I'll drop you two off and grab my stuff."

As planned, the three soon found themselves back at the apartment. Lita grabbing her stuff for work, while Trish and Victoria were settling in for the rest of the day…or trying to figure out what they would do for the rest of the day. The raven haired woman wanted to go out and do something since her internship was starting tomorrow and coincidentally, that was the same day that Trish had her all day orientation. It didn't take long before Victoria was on the phone with Jeff; the two women making plans to meet up with Jeff and Chris. The dark haired woman had just hung up to inform Trish about said plans when Lita was rushing out the front door.. The redhead offering a wave over her shoulder before the door slammed shut. In turn, Victoria and Trish muttered about room-mates who worked too much. Of course they could understand why Lita did have that type of demanding schedule.. But that left the redhead with little free time. Whatever the case, the two women soon found themselves debating over who was going to use the shower first.


	9. Chapter 8

**Love, Lust and Lunacy**

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine…never will be.

**Spoilers: **la la la la, I can't hear you… it's Alternate Universe

**Rating: **T for language.. Will go up in later chapters.

**Characters: **Trish, Dawn, Victoria, Lillian, Lita, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Batista, Christian, Jeff Hardy and John Cena…appearances by many others.

**Summary: **Bad plumbing, a need for room-mates and a mutual friends wedding brings them all together.

**Notes:** See previous chapters for any applicable notes…I'm sorry for the time between updates… I promise no regular updating schedule for any of my stories.. Otherwise I'll burn myself out again.

**xoxox**

While Lita wasn't exactly thrilled about having to work a double shift, she also knew that they really didn't have the staff that they needed at the shelter. It wasn't the first time she had done a double shift and the redhead figured it probably wouldn't be the last. Even after they did hire more people, the possibility was always there that she would have to pull a double shift. But, working a double shift also meant that she could spend more time with the kids when they were awake.. In particular, she could hover over Devon, Matthew and McKenzie. The three usually attached themselves to her hip when she arrived at the shelter anyway, not leaving her side unless it was absolutely necessary or if it was time for bed. Not that she didn't have some of the other children with her, just that those three stuck to her like glue. In some ways, she was a surrogate mother to them…in particular to McKenzie who had never really known her birth mother. Where Matthew was concerned, Lita didn't know how much he remembered… or if he just remembered his father and grandmother. And then there was Devon.. Since he was the oldest -- and since he had told her about his birth mother -- Lita knew full well that he remembered. The redheaded woman also knew that Devon's life had taken a sharp turn for the worse after his mother died. Just from the reports that the shelter had pieced together, their father had lost his job…lost the house shortly after and then.. He had given up the kids to their maternal grandmother. Their father hadn't been in the picture much since that day, save for the rare phone call or letter. And due to their grandmother's poor health and equally poor living conditions.. It was no wonder that they ended up at the shelter. Idly, Lita wondered if that was one of the reasons why she hovered over the three siblings like she did. While she hadn't lost her mother, she could certainly relate easier to their situation. She related pretty well with all of the children at the shelter but…where those three in particular were concerned…the bond seemed to be unbreakable.

"Hey.." Ivory greeted as the redhead made her way over. "I'm sorry about the extremely short notice and all.. But I have to be at City hall in half an hour…we have the staff, but I need someone to fill in for me." Grimacing slightly, she held up a thick binder. "And I also need someone to look over this, plan out the activity schedules for the rest of this season and Winter, check financial records and--"

"I've got it," Lita interrupted with a reassuring grin. "I've filled in for you before, so it's not a big deal." She took the binder from her supervisor, "how many kids?"

The brunette pursed her lips in thought, "Seven.. They're at the park right now with Stacy and Jackie.. Torrie and Terri will be working the second shift with you and hopefully, I'll be back well before then." She flicked a glance to her watch, "I've gotta run.. Thank you so much for coming in, Li…you're a lifesaver."

The redhead grinned in turn, waving to her supervisor before heading inside. She hung up her jacket in the closet, her arms swinging by her sides as she made her way into Ivory's office. "Okay…the binder can wait, financial records are a pain…" Lita rummaged through the desk drawer for a planner, the computer turned on shortly after. "Let's get that schedule started.."

While the computer was turning on, Lita took a moment to read over the materials that had been provided from various corporations, professional sports teams and the City.. Going from that information, she could provide an accurate schedule.

"Okay…tickets to a few home games for the Warriors and a meet and greet.." Lita smiled to herself, using the mouse to bring up the scheduling program. "That's a definite…I know Devon, Scott and Jamie would love that. And the tickets for the A's games and Giant's games.." She pursed her lips, hitting the tab key to get to the next week of September. "Hmm.. What else do we have…"

Adding a few more sports games, trips to the zoo and to Monterrey, plus on special trip to Disneyland.. Lita was left with a few workshops, camping trips, horseback riding and visits to the children's museum.

"Devon, Scott and Alexis.. No running in the halls!" Stacy Keibler swept her hair from her face, "are you listening? If you can't listen, that means no special snack.."

Lita could hear a muffled oomph as the three children apparently ran into each other at their hasty stop.

"Okay, Matthew, McKenzie and Jamie.. Go wash your hands." Jackie smiled down to the three younger children, toting the seventh child in her arms. "And let's get you a band aid for your knee."

Devon blinked, "I thought Lita was supposed to be here.."

Stacy smiled, "You can find out, after you wash your hands D. go on.." She opened the closet in the main hallway, noting that Lita's jean jacket was already there. "Li? Where are you?"

"In the office," the redhead replied as she started printing out the activity schedule. "Ivory wanted me to take care of a few things while she went to City Hall."

The tall blonde swept her hair from her face as she entered the office. "Stuff like what?"

Lita made a face, "Financial records, re-organizing the records…and getting the schedule ready for Winter."

Stacy nodded absently, "Devon's been asking about you…wondering when you're gonna get here so you can finish that puzzle with him."

Shaking her head, Lita started to organize the schedule sheets. "Is there a time he's not asking about me? Don't get me wrong, Stace, I love him to bits but…he can be a little--"

"Clingy?" Stacy offered with a shrug, "I guess he can Li, but.. He adores you. And sure, the same can be said for all of us, but you're like the center of his world."

"I know," the redhead pressed her lips together as she stapled the sheets into a makeshift packet. "How are the kids doing today?"

The blonde woman shrugged slightly, seating herself in one of the few chairs in the small office space. "Well.. Devon, Scott and Alexis were really wild at the playground, but I'm thinking that's just because they want to go somewhere else, you know? McKenzie was really cranky at the playground, so of course Jamie just had to join in.. Matthew was following in his brother's footsteps and Aaron skinned his knee on the playground."

Lita bit her lower lip, "maybe we should plan on a trip to the beach or something…hold them over until the new activity schedule kicks in. But, the older kids will be starting school at the end of the month so.."

"Right.. I'm sure the kids would like it though.. I mean, there are only so many times we can go to the playground and well.." Stacy frowned slightly, running a hand through her blonde locks. "I'm not sure when we'll be moving to the new shelter, but.. That'll at least give them something else to look forward to."

"Speaking of that," Lita crossed her arms loosely over her chest. "We need to talk to the kids at some point.. I'm not sure if the younger one's will really understand, but for the older ones…this shelter has been there home for the better part of their lives."

Stacy nodded her agreement, the two women exiting the office when they heard approaching footsteps. "Has Ivory given you any set time as to when we move and when we start hiring? I mean, I know she covered this stuff at the meeting, but.. I kinda figured that she'd tell you first."

The redhead opened her mouth to reply when three small bodies collided with hers, nearly sending her to the floor.. Lita managed to keep her balance until another body came barreling at her.

"Lita!" McKenzie exclaimed, giving the woman a toothy smile, "me missed you."

"I missed you too, McKenz.." Lita reached out a hand, ruffling the child's chestnut colored curls before her gaze slid over to Matthew and Jamie. "I can't help y'all get your snack if you don't move.."

The small pile pinning her down soon moved, Devon hugging her fiercely before he stepped away. "Where were you? Ms. Ivory said you were gonna be here this afternoon."

Lita shook her head, "it is afternoon, D.. and I wasn't supposed to be here until tonight so.." She winked at him, taking hold of Matthew's hand while McKenzie was scooped up. "We'll go get the snack started and after.. How about we finish that puzzle?"

**xoxox**

While Lita was in Palo Alto, Trish and Victoria were waiting on Chris and Jeff so they could figure out what they would be doing for the night. Of course, that meant waiting for Jeff to actually get himself together.. The man having developed a reputation since childhood for being notoriously late. But, despite his few flaws…which really not one of them was perfect and they knew that…Jeff was also one of the more reliable in terms of having someone to talk to. Specifically, he was someone of the opposite sex whom was willing to dispense advice, listen to them whine and moan…one of the girls, in one sense, but also one of their best friends. To some extent, the same could be said for Chris.. Though, Jeff was more likely to be sympathetic and offer advice while Chris started plotting someone's demise before finding out the full extent of the situation. None the less, the two had consistently been there for Victoria, Trish, Dawn, Lita and Lilian for as long as they had been friends. The same could also be said about Tyson and Christian…since Rob was more Lita and Jeff's friend from high school. But, that wasn't to say that Rob hadn't been there for them…or Tommy for that matter, whom had gone to the same schools as Victoria and Chris in Oakland. Tonight, though, they weren't meeting with Tommy, Rob, Christian or Dawn.. They were meeting with Chris and Jeff…although, at the last minute, Trish did end up calling Dawn to see if she and Christian wanted to hang out with them.. The engaged pair agreeing to meet up with them, but only if they could take the 'party' across the bay to Berkley.. Which didn't make too much sense since they were all currently residing in San Francisco or one of it's suburbs, but…it did provide for a slight change of scenery. Whatever the case, by the time Trish had confirmed plans with Christian and Dawn, Jeff and Chris had arrived at the apartment.. The four then setting off Bay Wolf in Oakland….thanks to one last minute call from Dawn as they were leaving.

Chris sent a questioning look to the blonde in the driver's seat. "Don't you need reservations for Bay Wolf?"

Victoria rolled her eyes good naturedly, "duh Chris.. It's called, we're meeting Dawn and Christian… since when have you known either of those two to be denied a table? Remember, that the birthday dinner for Lil last year? We wanted to have it at Cliff House and had it not been for Dawn…we never would've gotten the tables."

Jeff nodded, "plus…we always rely on them to get the best cabins when we go to Tahoe or whatever.. They've also gotten us into Vail…and you know how hard it is to get into there unless you've got the right connections--"

"Or if you're loaded," Trish pointed out as the car joined traffic. "But, that isn't the reason why we hang out with them.. They just happen to have the best connections out of all of us."

Chris nodded slightly, running a hand through his blonde locks. "Whatever.. Are you two free next weekend?"

Victoria blinked, craning her neck slightly to peer at the blonde man. "You are aware that we need to start packing and stuff, right? I mean, now that we've figured out who's room is who's… all that's left is the actual move. And I don't know about you two, but we haven't even started packing yet."

Trish shook her head as they approached the Bay Bridge, her brow furrowing slightly. "We do need to know.. What are you two bringing to the house? I mean, like in terms of furniture, appliances….stuff like that. We figured you wouldn't have a vacuum, but whatever furniture you can bring would be great.. The less we need to buy, the better."

Victoria nodded, "and Dawn said she has some old stuff from her house…well, it's not like really old, but it's used in terms of her standards. She and Christian are buying everything new for the house they're having built."

Jeff rubbed the back of his neck in thought, "well.. I've got my bedroom furniture, my own television and my computer.. Plus all my art supplies in storage. We have dishes and all that, but uh.. They aren't in the best shape."

"What he said," Chris bridged his hands behind his head, "basically.. I've got my bedroom furniture, my own television and my computer. Our couch is really beat up and we don't have a dining room table."

Trish frowned thoughtfully, "we never figured out what we're going to do about internet connection, did we? I know we have the phone and cable thing figured out, but … if all of us have computers.."

Victoria shrugged, turning her attention to the bay, "I'm sure we'll figure that out Trish.. Internet connection isn't much different than figuring out cable and phone."

"I know that, it's just.. We need to schedule a time for all of this to be installed, make sure someone is there to tell these people where these things need to be installed and--"

"Trish.." Jeff interrupted shortly, "we'll get to it, when we get to it.. We aren't moving in for another two weeks or so, right? Just let it go until then."

The blonde women let out a soft sigh, "I know we don't have to worry about this until we move, it's just… all of us are going to be really busy, really soon. Li's already swamped with her unreliable schedule, you two are starting internships and.. I just.. .it would help me sleep easier if we had all of this under control." Shrugging slightly, she continued: "there's a lot that needs to be done. We need to hire movers or rent moving trucks, get everything installed, get everything moved in…plus we have to figure out food, because I don't know if many of us are really going to be willing to do a lot of cooking right after we move in and--"

"We're here.." Victoria announced before Trish could go on, the three passengers letting out separate sighs of relief. "Trish…take a deep breath and don't think about the move for the rest of the night, okay? We're here to meet friends and have fun."

Dawn smiled brightly as Trish, Victoria, Jeff and Chris approached. "Hey guys.. I'm sorry for the last minute location change.. I was just craving Bay Wolf." Her smile broadened a bit when they were closer, "I also wanted to know.. Do you all still want or need furniture? I'm going through everything at my old place, and I'm probably going to get rid of everything."

Christian nodded from his spot beside her. "The same can be said for me.. We're currently staying in one of the family penthouses, so.. Everything within my former residence will more than likely be put up for sale."

Victoria blinked, "and you two are sure about this? I mean, I don't want to sound ungrateful here, because believe us…we are. It's just…I wouldn't feel so right just taking this, you know?"

Dawn waved it off without a care, "it's no issue between friends, Vicki.."

Trish regarded the pair skeptically, "true as that might be, I'm with Vicki on this.. I wouldn't feel right and I know Li wouldn't either. .you have to let us pay you somehow."

"We'll work out something," Dawn re-assured with another smile, "I'd just feel better if it was going to friends then a complete stranger.."

Jeff made a gesture to the restaurant, "why don't we talk about it over dinner then? And if you'd feel better if it was going to friends.. Li was talking about how the shelter is expanding. I'm sure they could use some stuff too."

The brunette nodded easily, tucking a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. "I'll speak with her about this…I'm sure father has some old office equipment if they need that.."

With all of that temporarily settled, the four went into the restaurant.. Dawn and Christian requesting their usual table. And it was over dinner that they discussed the handing over of furniture and the like.. Trish, Victoria, Chris and Jeff insisting that they couldn't just take everything from their friends. It wasn't that they didn't appreciate the generous offer…especially considering that between Dawn and Christian, they were getting nearly everything else that they would need for the house. From Dawn alone, they were looking at two complete sets of expensive bedroom furniture, carpets, dishes, and practically brand vacuums, mops and brooms. From Christian they would be receiving two living room sets, a home theatre system and a pool table. In return, the group agreed to pay full price for one of the bedroom sets and one of the living room sets.. Dawn and Christian refusing to let them pay for everything. And where the items for the shelter were concerned, Dawn reasoned that it could easily be written off as a charitable donation. Granted, the brunette didn't go into any details where it concerned the amount of items that would be donated…but she figured that she could talk about that when Lita was with them. And after dinner was over, the six decided to get dessert in Berkley…further discussing wedding plans and the whole moving situation. All in all, the night was relatively relaxing.. .the six heading their separate ways shortly after 10:00 p.m.


End file.
